TEHRAN – The Ministry of Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkish benefactors to kick off a school-building project in Minab in memory of the students martyred during a US missile attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh school.

Hamidreza Khanmohammadi, the director of the Organization for Development, Renovation, and Equipping Schools, and Sheikh Kadir Akaras, the president of the Turkish Shiite Scholars Association, signed the MOU in the presence of Education Minister Alireza Kazemi, ISNA reported.

On February 28, while dozens of girls and boys aged between 7 and 12 were beginning their lessons, the school was targeted by a missile strike that caused the building to collapse, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Local officials said last month that 120 students were killed—73 boys and 47 girls.

Among the other victims were 26 teachers, all women, one of them six months pregnant, as well as seven parents, a school bus driver, and a technician at a nearby clinic.

Highlighting solidarity between the Iranian and Turkish people, the project involves the construction of 60 classrooms through building a three-hectare educational complex, six schools, and the development of vocational schools.

The project is scheduled to be completed and ready to be used by the end of summer 2027, IRNA quoted Khanmohammadi as saying.

The new schools will be built close to the two bombarded schools, which are planned to be preserved as a reminder of the painful, violent US attack.

Since the outbreak of the war, over 640 schools have been destroyed in 17 provinces of the country, out of which 250 need fundamental repairs, and 15 need to be rebuilt.

A total of 241 students and teachers have been martyred and 183 students and teachers have been injured.

In March, the education ministry launched a campaign, titled Minab Angels, to build two schools in memory of the Minab students.

The campaign provides a great opportunity for benefactors to denounce the illegal attacks and make contributions to build the schools, Khanmohammadi said.

In this regard, Education Minister Alireza Kazemi said the school should be built again with a special design in order to be a symbol of science and altruism. It should be turned into a memorial to commemorate the martyred students, IRNA reported.

Hundreds of Turkish scholars have strongly condemned recent US-Israeli strikes on Iranian universities, calling the attacks an act of “epistemicide” – a crime against knowledge and humanity’s intellectual heritage.

In a joint statement released in April, 239 professors from top Turkish universities, including Bogazici, Istanbul, and Ankara, said the bombings violate international conventions that protect educational facilities during conflicts.

At least 30 Iranian universities and research centers have been attacked since the war began on February 28.

The academics accused Western academic communities of silence and double standards. They urged UNESCO and the UN to establish an emergency mechanism to safeguard universities in conflict zones. The scholars also expressed readiness to host displaced Iranian researchers and students and proposed forming an international network of academic bridges to sustain collaborative research.

MT/MG