Tehran, Sep 14 (IANS): The new academic year of Iran's universities and higher education centers officially began with a message of the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday, state TV reported.

In his online speech, Rouhani stressed the significance of virtual education at the universities to avoid adverse impacts of novel coronavirus, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The start of new academic year was announced earlier this year, and each university has the authority to decide the implementation of its educational programs.

Some courses will be held virtually, and some by combination of face-to-face and virtual sessions, according to the report.

On September 5, the Iranian president officially announced the opening of new school year.

Iran's Education Ministry announced plans for reopening schools in low-risk regions and said that classes of high-risk regions would be held online.

Iranian educational centers were closed for nearly four months during the last academic year as the novel coronavirus broke out across the country in February.