AMU to help Afghan students get scholarship, admissions, visa: Officials

NEW DELHI: Students from Afghanistan studying in Aligarh Muslim University will be provided all possible help to continue their education in India, said Syed Nawaz Zaidi, deputy proctor of the university.

The Vice-Chancellor, Tarique Mansoor met 15 Afghan students residing on campus and heard their requests. Most of the students who attended the meeting expressed concerns about not being able to apply for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships. Those who are still stuck in Afghanistan expressed concerns over missing the admission deadline.

“Some of the students in undergraduate courses want to apply for postgraduate courses, the postgraduate students want to apply for PhD and for this they need the scholarship amount. These scholarships are processed between the Afghanistan Government and Indian Government but after the situation deteriorated, everything has come to a standstill,” Zaidi told Careers360.

Also Read: ‘For the Taliban, I’m the enemy’: Afghan students of Indian universities worry about future

The university administration has asked students to write a letter to the Vice-Chancellor which will be forwarded to the Government of India. “We have requested the admission comptroller at the university to allow the renewal of admissions for any Afghan student during this extraordinary situation,” Zaidi further added.

Every year, the ICCR offers around 1,000 scholarships to Afghans to study in higher education institutes in India. Currently, there are a total of 23 students from Afghanistan enrolled in various programmes at AMU.

According to Zaidi, some of the students who are married and have children stuck in Afghanistan were concerned about their safety. “The internet connection is poor and many of our students have been unable to speak to their families for days now. They requested that they should be allowed to bring their families to India,” he said.

Earlier, the Delhi University officials had also met with 48 Afghan students who are enrolled in different courses at the university. There are around 200 Afghan students studying in DU. The India Institute of Technology Bombay also allowed Afghan students to join its campus amid the Afghanistan crisis. Several IITs are making efforts to help Afghan students who are stuck in Afghanistan which is under the Taliban’s control now.

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