Iran offers fully funded virtual education for Afghan students returning from abroad

Iran has announced that it is prepared to provide fully funded virtual education for Afghan students returning from abroad, including complete support for digital learning tools and equipment.

Nader Yarahmadi, head of the Center for Foreign Nationals and Refugees at Iran’s Ministry of Interior, said Tehran is ready to deliver online education to Afghan students inside Afghanistan, adding that an international partner has expressed interest in helping finance the initiative.

According to Yarahmadi, more than 6.1 million Afghan nationals are legally residing in Iran, with only about 33,000 living in camps and the remainder settled in cities. He noted that until last year, Afghan students made up roughly 12% of Afghanistan’s residents in Iran and accounted for nearly 16% of Iran’s total student population. He said expanding school infrastructure and improving educational quality would help close existing gaps.

Iran’s Education Minister Alireza Kazemi highlighted the country’s experience with remote learning through the “Shad” platform during the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are ready to educate all Afghan students through our national education network under a tripartite cooperation agreement, granting them valid academic certificates within the virtual school framework,” he said.

Earlier meetings in Kabul between Iran’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Alireza Bigdeli, Cultural Attaché Seyed Ruhollah Hosseini, and Islamic Emirate education officials underscored both sides’ interest in continuing cooperation in the education sector.