As the new school year begins, attention is turning again to expanding classroom space and providing the infrastructure students need. The oil industry has pursued the effort in recent years alongside its core mission.

The ministry is carrying out school construction, completion, renovation and upgrade projects in provinces nationwide. The projects aim to expand educational infrastructure, support underserved areas and give students equal opportunities, the ministry said.

Since the start of the 14th government, 1,430 school and educational space projects have been taken on, according to available data. Of those, 424 have been completed and 1,006 are under way. Many are in oil-producing provinces and other regions with oil and gas output.

Projects in all provinces

The supervision management works with other agencies on education projects in all provinces. Under ministry policy, the program focuses mainly on oil-rich provinces, especially Khuzestan.

Since the start of the 14th government, the ministry has pursued school construction, renovation and upgrades under the direction of Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad and in line with its social responsibility guidelines.

Khuzestan leads with 301 projects, 151 of them completed. Fars is second with 244 projects, 50 of them finished. Bushehr is third with 229 projects, 63 of them completed.

Other provinces with completed projects include East Azerbaijan, with 39 educational spaces; Yazd, with 26; and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, with 23.