TEHRAN –A total of 371 schools have been constructed in underprivileged areas in the west of the country in the current Iranian calendar year that ends on March 20, an official with the Headquarters for Executing the Order of the Imam Khomeini has said.

The schools with 1,224 classrooms have been built in Kordestan, Kermanshah, Markazi, and Hamedan provinces, IRNA quoted Yaser Eshraqi as saying.

The organization has also constructed 37 health centers in deprived areas in these provinces.

It has offered financial aid to support 2,310 patients with cancer and hard-to-treat diseases, and 812 infertile couples, living in these provinces, to pay for treatment expenses, he added.

Different rehabilitation equipment, including wheelchairs, walkers, wavy mattresses, mobility canes, white canes, and mattresses have been provided to 1,266 disabled people living in these provinces.

Eshraqi went on to say that the organization has also supported 1,277 deaf and hard-of-hearing children with cochlear implantation and post-implant rehabilitation services, and 483 children with lazy eyes were supported to purchase glasses.

Moreover, four dormitories for girls with the capacity to house over 1,000 students have been built in Sanandaj, Hamedan, and Arak cities, he noted.

In August 2023, the Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipment of Schools announced that the number of newly built schools across the country has increased by 104 percent over the past two years.

On a daily basis, 47 new classrooms have been constructed all over the country during the past two years.

On July 11, 2023, the 25th conference on honoring school-building benefactors was held at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Tehran.

Addressing the conference, First Vice-President Mohammad Mokhber said investing in education and manpower training is the root and basis of any country's development, and this starts from schools.

Last year (March 2022-March 2023), benefactors donated more than 160 trillion rials (about $320 million) to build and equip schools across the country, he added, IRNA reported.

MT/MG