TEHRAN: With funding of 120 trillion rials (about $200 million), school construction benefactors have contributed to the construction of 53 percent of schools in the current Iranian school year, which began on March 20.

In 1998, the Association of School-Building Donors was established, with donors providing 170 billion rials (about $284,000), IRNA quoted Mohammad Reza Jafari, CEO of the School-Building Donors Association, as saying.

In recent years, contributions from benefactors have tripled. They have financed the construction of more than half of the schools, the official added.

A total of 400 benefactors from home and abroad are involved in the school construction. They are also working to improve the quality of education in schools, he added.

The proportion of patrons increased by 300%

On July 2, former Education Minister Reza-Morad Sahraei said that in the last three years, the share of benefactors in building schools had increased by 300 percent.

If this trend continues, building schools in areas where the teaching area per capita is below the national standard of 5.30 square metres will of course be a priority, he said.

Over the past three years, more than 7,000 schools with 32,000 classrooms have been built in disadvantaged areas, the official stressed.

The fact that 64 percent of schools are built in rural areas and underprivileged communities shows efforts to increase educational equity and opportunities, Sahraei added.

Half-finished projects

An amount of 60 trillion rials (about 100 million US dollars) has been allocated for the completion of half-finished education projects by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2025), an education ministry official said.

During the term of late President Ebrahim Raisi, 33,000 classrooms were built and retrofitted, with half of the funds raised by benefactors, IRNA quoted Hamid-Reza Khanmohammadi as saying.
Regarding the construction of schools for refugees, the official said that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has built 111 schools in the last ten years.

Stressing that 600,000 foreign students are currently taking advantage of the educational opportunities offered by Iranian schools, Khanmohammadi said that 22 schools are currently being built and six projects are planned in challenging locations and are being examined.

He stressed that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should support the construction of up to 50 schools per year.
MT/MG