The escalating conflict in Iran has triggered a global ripple effect that is straining education systems in developing nations, particularly in Southeast Asia and Africa. As fuel prices surge, families living in poverty face increasingly difficult decisions about whether to keep children in school or prioritize immediate survival needs. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, the war could push up to 23.4 million additional children into poverty by the end of the year, with approximately 80 percent concentrated in Africa and Asia.
In Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake region, communities that depend on fishing have been especially hard hit. Thirteen-year-old Sou Sreynich, who began formal education only recently, now misses school days to work with her family because rising fuel costs prevent them from traveling to fishing grounds where catches are more abundant. Similarly, in Vietnam’s northern coast, a 16-year-old and her 13-year-old sister dropped out of school after their father lost his fishing job due to prohibitively high diesel prices. The girls subsequently moved to work in a Hanoi restaurant under conditions that exposed them to hazards and violated child labor laws, though they were later returned to school through intervention by a nonprofit foundation.
The conflict’s impact on education operates through multiple channels beyond direct transportation costs. Governments in developing nations that rely on imported energy face mounting pressure on national budgets as expenses for fuel and subsidies climb. This fiscal strain leaves fewer resources available for education and social services. Schools themselves face elevated operational costs, from electricity to supplies delivered by boat in remote areas. Teachers and humanitarian workers also struggle to reach isolated communities as transportation becomes more expensive.
Education experts warn that the consequences extend beyond academic disruption. When families face financial tipping points, they typically prioritize keeping some children enrolled while withdrawing others to work. Those removed from school face heightened vulnerability to exploitation, trafficking, and homelessness. In South Asian contexts, girls are disproportionately at risk because families tend to prioritize educational investment in sons. The cumulative effect threatens to reverse years of progress in education access and poverty reduction across the developing world.
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