At least 10,000 Afghan children have enrolled in schools in Tehran and surrounding areas this year, the city’s education director said.
Majid Parsa, head of the Tehran Education Department, gave no further details on enrollment figures but said students with valid identity documents from Iran’s Interior Ministry would be admitted. Iranian authorities often refer to Afghan migrants as “foreign nationals.”
“Those who have legal identity documents will certainly be registered,” Parsa said, according to Iranian media reports. “As many students as can obtain valid documents from the Interior Ministry will be registered.”
Parsa noted differences between schools in central Tehran and those on the outskirts, where two-shift schools have been common. He said the practice of adding two-shift schools is being phased out, predicting a slight drop in average classroom density this year.
“In Tehran most schools operate in a single shift,” he said. “In previous years, when student numbers increased, we added double shifts. But this year we expect student density to fall by about two per class, from an average of 33 to 31.”
He added that authorities are working to reduce the number of double-shift schools in overcrowded districts.
Parsa also said the Interior Ministry has taken steps to help migrant students more quickly obtain identity documents, which are required for school enrollment.
