South Asia University Suspends Scholarships for Afghan Students Over Unpaid Fees
South Asia University (SAU) has announced the suspension of scholarships allocated to Afghan students due to Afghanistan’s failure to pay its financial share to the educational institution. This decision follows protests from Bhutan, which stated that Afghanistan’s continued use of scholarships without contributing financially was unfair.
K.K. Aggarwal, president of the university, told the Times of India that SAU is compelled to apply the same criteria to all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries. According to him, when some countries pay their shares regularly, exceptions cannot be made for others.
According to the university’s financial records, Afghanistan has made no payments since 2021, with its last recorded contribution being $307,000 in 2020. University officials said Sri Lanka also has not made payments since 2021, but this is considered a delay rather than a complete refusal. Pakistan, after several years of interruption, made a payment in 2025.
The university president added that because India does not recognize the Taliban administration, the university has been unable to establish an official channel to resolve the issue of Afghanistan’s payment. He noted that the lack of official communication channels with authorities in Kabul has complicated efforts to address the matter. The Afghan embassy in New Delhi did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite the suspension of scholarships, Aggarwal said the university is ready to provide online education opportunities, especially for women, if approved by Afghan authorities. He emphasized that the university continues to receive many messages from Afghan students, particularly girls, who wish to continue their studies but are unable to travel due to educational restrictions on women and visa difficulties.
Educational restrictions imposed by the Taliban on girls and women have severely limited their access to higher education in recent years, resulting in wide-ranging social and academic consequences. Observers believe that the continuation of this situation will further curtail opportunities for the country’s young generation.
Aggarwal also said that if one of the SAARC member countries or an external organization agrees to pay Afghanistan’s financial share, scholarships could be reinstated. He asked the Indian Ministry of Education to consider whether the scholarships offered by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations could be expanded to Afghan students applying to SAU.
According to university statistics, for the academic year 2026, 157 applications were received from Afghanistan across various levels, but ultimately no Afghan students enrolled. In the 2024–2025 academic year, 10 students from Afghanistan were present at the university.
