Over 118,000 Afghan pupils going to schools in Iran's capital

More than 118,000 Afghan pupils are going to schools in Tehran Province, said Issa Mousavinasab, the Director-General of the Foreign Nationals and Immigrants Department of Tehran Governorate General. Mousavinasab said that the Afghan nationals are studying at the province's schools based on a tripartite agreement reached among the UNHCR, the Afghan government and Iran. He said in 1981 when Afghan refugees started entering Iran, the literacy rate of Afghan refugees was only six percent but it has now grown to 70 percent despite the eight-year Iraqi war imposed on Iran and the West sanctions on the country, which shows Iran’s attention to educate refugees, the Islamic republic news agency reported. He said such a figure marks unprecedented growth in terms of education of refugees in the world.