TEHRAN — About 17,000 foreign nationals residing in Iran have enrolled for literacy schemes for the current school year starting on September 22, 2016, director of the Literacy Movement Organization of Iran has said.

Last year some 24,900 foreign nationals took part in literacy courses, Ali Baqerzadeh said, Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

This year 13,700 of the students are chosen by the Literacy Movement Organization and the rest by the United Nation Refugee Agency, he added.

More than 680 thousand foreign nationals became literate in Iran from 1984 to 2011 and the $1.8-million costs of the 27-year program were all covered by Iran. Moreover from 2011 to 2015, 52,351 foreign nationals were provided with the literacy program coverage at a cost of $75 million.

MQ/MG