The Global Student Forum is deeply alarmed by the grave situation unfolding for students in Iran. As armed conflict intensifies and campuses across the country adopt emergency measures, students, both Iranian and international, are being displaced, endangered, and deprived of their right to education and safety.
Recent airstrikes, evacuations, and lockdowns have thrust Iran’s university system into crisis. Foreign students have been urged to flee or have been evacuated under emergency conditions, while domestic students are left navigating a collapsing infrastructure amid air raid warnings, internet blackouts, and rising insecurity.
These developments are not isolated. They are the violent culmination of a higher education system already in deep distress.
For years, Iran’s students have been the victims of repression, chronic neglect, mismanagement, and economic strain. Crumbling dormitories, collapsing ceilings, fatal accidents, and carbon monoxide poisoning have tragically become commonplace. Students sleep on floors, skip meals to survive, and face rising costs due to the privatisation of essential services, all while their financial support is slashed and their campuses militarised.
Even before the current conflict, education in Iran was becoming unsustainable for many. Now, the situation is dire.
We condemn in the strongest terms the use of academic institutions as strategic targets or shields in conflict, and we urge all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, including the obligation to protect schools and universities from attack.
We stand in solidarity with the thousands of students forced to flee, the many still trapped in dangerous conditions, and the countless Iranian students whose hopes for a better future are being shattered not just by war, but by structural decay.
We call on the international community to:
- Ensure the protection and evacuation of international students still at risk in Iran, regardless of nationality, in coordination with embassies, universities, and humanitarian agencies
- Provide urgent support to displaced Iranian students, including academic relocation, emergency funding, and mental health assistance
- Reaffirm education as a protected space, not only in wartime but in everyday governance, where students are entitled to safe housing, affordable meals, and academic dignity
- Pressure Iranian authorities to address the systemic collapse of the higher education system, including reversing austerity cuts and ending the securitisation of campuses
The Global Student Forum reiterates that education is a human right, not a privilege contingent on political stability or geographic location. No student should be forced to choose between survival and learning.
We will continue to raise the voices of students in Iran and beyond, and work with international partners to ensure their safety, rights, and futures are defended.
