The Iran war is forcing families to choose between school for their kids or survival

The impact of the Iran war on education isn't as visible as the widespread school closures of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the conflict is hitting the poorest children first

KAMPONG PRAHOK, Cambodia -- Sou Sreynich dreams of becoming a teacher. But she knows she's far behind.

The 13-year-old first entered a classroom at 10, an age when most Cambodian children already have been in school for years. Her mother waited until she was old enough to swim, fearing the boat to school could capsize — a decision familiar to many parents on Cambodia's Tonle Sap , the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia.

Now, the price of gasoline has spiked because of the Iran war , an additional burden. Unlike outright school closures during COVID-19 , the Iran war’s impact on education is less visible. But it is falling first and hardest on the poorest families. Soaring fuel prices are making it more expensive for children and teachers to get to school, and for governments to fund education as national budgets come under strain.

On the lake, getting anywhere has always meant navigating the water. Climate change is making it harder, with increasingly unpredictable floods and droughts. Teachers at her school say 10 students have drowned over the years.

If the war continues , it could push up to 23.4 million more children like Sreynich into poverty by the end of the year, according to a recent United Nations Children’s Fund report. About 80% of those children would be in Africa and Asia.

Most mornings, a gas-powered boat chugs through Kampong Prahok, steered by students often no older than those climbing aboard. They pull up alongside floating homes, as peers in crisp uniforms clamber aboard, careful to keep their backpacks dry.

Like most on Tonle Sap, Sreynich’s family relies on fishing to survive. They earn some money picking chili peppers and gutting fish for others. Rising fuel prices because of the Iran war mean the family can't afford to travel to deeper waters where fish are more plentiful.

When money is tight, Sreynich skips a day or two of school to work alongside her parents. She dreads every absence. “I want to complete my studies,” she said.

For families already living on the edge, the war’s ripple effects are forcing difficult choices: whether to pay for food, fuel, rent and electricity, or keep every child in school.

“The Iran war is likely going to force millions of children out of school and could force millions of children to make the decision not to enroll in the first place,” said Sabrina Hervey of the Qatar-based Education Above All Foundation.

Ly, 16, and her sister Nhi, 13, two of nine children from a fishing family on Vietnam’s rocky northern coast, have long drifted in and out of school as the family struggled to make ends meet.

They are identified by their first names only because of Vietnamese laws protecting vulnerable minors.

Their father lost his fishing job after the war pushed diesel prices so high that boat owners could not afford to go out to sea. Already burdened by debt, the family was surviving on his odd jobs. It wasn't enough to keep all nine children fed and in school.