TEHRAN – Some 76 percent of the students aged 12-18 years have received the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the latest announcement of the Ministry of Education.

Meanwhile, the first shot has been injected to 86 percent of the whole students of this age group.

The total population of students aged 12 to 18 (seventh to twelfth grade) is 6,503,258 people.

Accordingly, the number of injections of the first dose among the students is 5,591,179 and the number of injections of the second dose is 4,932,085, IRNA reported on Sunday.

All educational centers in Iran have been closed since February 2020.

In order for students to keep in touch with their studies, the Ministry of Education launched a homegrown mobile application on April 9, called SHAD, providing students with distance learning programs. More than 60 percent of students and 94 percent of teachers attended 64 percent of classes through the SHAD app, whose acronym in Persian translates as the Students Education Network.

Moreover, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) also began to broadcast televised educational programs on a daily basis after school closures.

Due to the vaccination and the reduction of transmission, schools are gradually reopened since September, and about 15 million students across the country can benefit from face-to-face education with strict observance of health protocols during school hours.

FB/MG