Iran’s education ministry has ordered the suspension of in-person schooling nationwide until further notice. Starting April 21, instruction is to move online using a government-controlled national education platform and broadcasts on the state television program Iran TV School. The measure applies to all school types and grades and will remain in effect until authorities announce otherwise.
The announcement follows a tense period after a fragile ceasefire ended six weeks of attacks. Officials from the Organization for School Renovation, Development, and Equipment say more than 640 school buildings across 17 provinces were damaged in strikes attributed to the US and Israel. About 250 of those institutions need major repairs, and at least 15 are reportedly so badly damaged they must be rebuilt from scratch.
Independent monitors and cybersecurity analysts reported severe disruptions to Iran’s access to the global internet in the days leading up to April 21. London-based NetBlocks documented what it described as the longest nationwide internet outage on record in that period. Large parts of the country have been cut off from the global web, with most traffic redirected onto a tightly controlled national intranet that allows access mainly to domestic services.
Many popular social media platforms were already blocked before the blackout, and Iranians frequently relied on VPNs to get online. Amir Rashidi, director of the cybersecurity firm Miaan Group, warned that the blockade is unlikely to be fully lifted, noting that authorities have long pursued a domestic network model to centralize digital control. That intranet makes it easier for the state to curb communications, limit the ability to organize protests, and prevent images of demonstrations from spreading, while still permitting some domestic services such as food delivery and ride-hailing.
Shifting schooling onto the national intranet is likely to widen existing educational inequalities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, some remote lessons ran over the national network, but effective distance learning requires reliable connectivity and suitable devices. Families in poorer provinces, particularly Sistan and Baluchistan, face limited or no broadband access and have far fewer smartphones or laptops needed for online education.
Charities and donors supplied devices during the pandemic, but activists say rising unemployment, inflation, and the economic strains of the current conflict have reduced the capacity for similar support now. To reach students with limited internet, some lessons will be telecast on state television. Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency reported sample scheduling such as maths for grades seven to nine in the afternoon and physics for grade twelve in the evening.
Parliament is debating measures to expand the national information network, boost bandwidth for educational institutions, and develop standardized digital learning content. Alireza Manadi Sefidan, chairman of the parliamentary education committee, has called for additional investment to improve distance learning infrastructure for schools and universities.
As the national intranet increasingly underpins everyday services, large segments of the population remain isolated from the international internet and dependent on a narrow set of state-controlled channels for education and communication. This article was originally published in German.