TEHRAN –Benefactors have pledged to provide 200 trillion rials (around 334 million dollars) for constructing schools in the current Iranian year that started on March 20, Mohammad Reza Jafari, CEO of the School-Building Donors Association has said.

Over 50 percent of benefactors have contributed in building 8,000 classrooms so far this year, IRIB quoted Jafari as saying.

Referring to the number of semi-finished projects to be constructed by benefactors, he said some 1,856 schools and 9,746 classrooms need more budget to be completed. 

Moreover, a total of 3,206 school projects with 1,6157 classrooms are on the agenda to be build, but these projects need the support of the government to be built, Jafari noted.

In Iranian year 1401 (2022-2023), benefactors alotted 46 trillion rials ( about 70 million dollars) for school construction and collected the needed amount in festivals.

In 1402 (March 2023 – March 2024), their contributions almost tripled, as it increased by 115 trillion rials (almost 191 million dollars).

Over half of schools built by benefactors

By financing 120 trillion rials (about $200 million), school-building benefactors have contributed to the construction of 53 percent of the schools in the current Iranian year, which started on March 20.

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

In the last few years, benefactors’ contributions have tripled. They have undertaken the construction of more than half of the schools, the official added.

There are a total of 400 benefactors, both inside and outside of the country, involved in school building. They also work to improve the quality of education in schools, he further noted.

Benefactors’ share increased by 300%

On July 2, the then Education Minister Reza-Morad Sahraei said over the past three years, the share of benefactors in building schools has increased by 300 percent.

If the same trend continues, constructing schools in areas where the per capita educational space is lower than the national standard, i.e., 5.30 square meters, will naturally become a priority, he said.

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

The fact that 64 percent of schools are constructed in rural areas and underprivileged communities highlights efforts to expand educational equity and opportunities, Sahraei further noted.

Semi-finished projects

A sum of 60 trillion rials (around $100 million) has been allocated to completing semi-finished educational projects by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2025), an official with the Ministry of Education has said.

During the late President Ebrahim Raisi’s administration, 33,000 classrooms were built and retrofitted with benefactors contributing to half of the funding, IRNA quoted Hamid-Reza Khanmohammadi as saying.
Referring to the construction of schools for refugees, the official said 111 schools have been built by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the past 10 years.

Highlighting that 600,000 foreign students are currently utilizing the educational capacities of Iran’s schools, Khanmohammadi said 22 schools are currently being constructed, and 6 projects are proposed in challenging locations, which are under review.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees should help construct up to 50 schools per year, he stressed.

Rise in newly-built schools

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.

About 40,000 donors are active and involved in building schools across the country, Jafari said.

He went on to say that over 49 percent of schools, amounting to 150,000 classrooms, in the country are built with the participation of school-building benefactors.

Construction of sports spaces, libraries, and developing smart schools are among the current needs in school construction,  Jafari stressed.

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.

The Majlis (Iranian Parliament) has approved a special budget to support building schools nationwide.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Education should spend one percent of the revenues of state-run companies and the net profits of banks and private institutions to build schools in deprived areas in line with the goal of promoting educational justice.

MT/MG