Person in Charge for the Department of Internationals Affairs & Schools Abroad of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Ahmad Shahmardani said the number of foreign national students has increased significantly. Last year the number of these students was 288825 and this year 38500 more have been added to that number. He added that out of the total 327440, 309407 are Afghan and 9437 are Iraqi and the rest belong to other countries. 173812 are male and 153628 are female students. And more than 80000 are Afghan students who study in schools outside of Tehran. According to him, after Tehran, the province of Khorasan Razavi with more than 45000 students hosts the highest number of Afghan students.