Iranian Students Begin New Academic Year 

The Iranian academic year officially started on Saturday with millions of school and university students beginning their education both in person and online. 
Based on statistics of the Education Ministry, 16 million school students were expected to attend classes on the first day of the academic year, of which more than one million would be first graders. 
Most universities opened their doors to students while a few in Tehran began the first week online due to a number of official holidays which occurred almost every other day.
Academic education is going back to normal after more than two years of online studies due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
Some students have not yet registered, according to Education Minister Yousef Nouri. 
“There have been delays due to the two years of school shutdowns as a result of the pandemic,” he said on Saturday.
President Ebrahim Raisi rang the bell of an elementary school in Tehran on the occasion of the schools’ reopening.
“As much as we spend for education, we have invested for the future of the country and therefore, we need to improve the efficiency in this sector,” he said in his address. 
He also said the government’s relations with the education system should not be limited to the school’s reopening and must persist throughout the years at the level of students, teachers, parents and experts. 
“Teaching and education must be a central matter and issues must be tackled with the participation of teachers, students and the education system so as to upgrade this sector,” he said. 
The municipality of Tehran also offered free subway transport for students with school uniforms or student ID cards. 
Other provinces also held special ceremonies attended by local authorities to welcome students back to school and receive first graders.