South Asian University suspends scholarships for Afghan students; Taliban's continued political isolation limits educational opportunities

Kabul Times News | The South Asian University has announced that it has stopped granting scholarships to Afghan students. University officials have cited the non-payment of Afghanistan's financial share since 2021 as the reason for this decision.

The university's president said that after the Taliban came to power and due to India's failure to recognize their government, it was not possible to officially pursue this issue and receive Afghanistan's financial share.

This decision was made while a number of experts and critics consider the Taliban's continued international isolation and the lack of official relations with many countries to be the main factors reducing the access of Afghan citizens, especially students, to international educational opportunities and scholarships.

The suspension of these scholarships could affect the academic future of a large number of Afghan students; students who had been able to continue their studies at the South Asian University through these programs in previous years.

As of the publication of this report, Taliban officials have not issued an official response to the University of South Asia's decision to stop granting scholarships to Afghan students.