Asharq Al-Awsat - Iran is planning to inaugurate the fifth Iranian university in Syria, revealed Mansour Gholami, Iran�s science, research and technology minister.

�The planned establishment of the Tarbiat Modares University in Syria aims to provide education for Syrian students in their own country,� Iran�s IRNA news agency quoted Gholami as saying.

The university will provide an opportunity for Syrian students to complete their graduate and post-graduate studies, according to Gholami. "We�re hoping to receive a larger number of students," the minister said.

The past years have witnessed the opening of several schools in Damascus, Lattakia, Deir Ezzor, and Boukamal.

Iran has allocated monthly salaries for students of its Islamic schools, amounting to SYP10,000 (USD20) � this is considered a high salary for poor Syrian children.

Unprecedentedly, the University of Hama has announced signing three agreements of scientific cooperation with three Iranian universities (Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Amirkabir University of Technology and Al-Zahra College for Women.)