ReliefWeb

Bismillah Khan, who heads the education department in western Afghanistan's Herat Province, said on 9 January that the Iranian authorities have promised to assist his country's education sector, the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Mashhad-based Dari service reported. Bismillah said this assistance includes providing scholarships to Afghan students. The state-radio dispatch also described Iran's donation of 15 buses to the Afghan Education Ministry and the construction of a school in Herat Province. Afghan Education Minister Yunis Qanuni visited Iran for two days in early November, IRNA reported on 6 November, and during that time he met with his counterpart Morteza Haji-Qaem, President Mohammad Khatami, and other Iranian officials, and the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding on mutual cooperation in education and science. This agreement covered school construction, the development of textbooks, and pedagogical training. BS