- Tuesday, April 16, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
VARIOUS Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are making efforts to help out their students from Afghanistan who are currently stuck there following the Taliban coming back to power on Sunday (15).
On Tuesday (17), India said that it will issue an emergency e-visa to Afghan nationals who want to come to the country in view of the current situation in Afghanistan.
“In this hour of crisis, IIT Delhi stands in solidarity with our students and alumni from Afghanistan. We are doing every thing possible to get the students to return to the campus. Let’s give them hope,” said IIT Delhi director V Ramgopal Rao.
The institute has also come up with helpline numbers for its Afghan students and alumni. Currently, 17 Afghan students are enrolled in various government programmes at IIT Delhi and only one of them is in Delhi as the others were attending online classes from Afghanistan due to Covid-19 pandemic.
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“We are in touch with them and trying to provide all support. Unfortunately, till the visas are sorted we cannot get them here but we are providing them with all the documentation needed so as soon as the situation improves a bit and the embassy is functional, their visas can be expedited,” Naveen Garg, dean of International Affairs at IIT Delhi, told Press Trust of India.
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“We are also opening admission process for prospective candidates from Afghanistan who can come to India provided they meet our criteria,” he said.
Three Afghan students enrolled at IIT Madras are also stuck in that country. “Three of our students are currently stuck in Afghanistan and the Office of Global Engagement at IIT Madras has issued letters to help them apply for a visa. The students had informed us that the situation is difficult with long queues at the consulate. Once they obtain their visas there is a further hurdle of getting passage to India by air. Reports from the airport there and news on commercial air travel have not been encouraging,” a spokesperson from the institute told PTI.
“In the event that students are unable to come to the campus, we will offer them opportunities to continue their programs online with added support as needed from faculty to ensure that they are able to keep up with the pace despite disruptions. However, it is our hope that the situation will stabilise and the students will be able to further their education at the best institutes in India in person,” he said.
IIT Bombay has also allowed Afghan students to return to its campus. Several students enrolled at the institute were requesting the institute to approve their return.
“We offered admission to quite a few students from Afghanistan in the master’s program this year under scholarships from ICCR. Because of online instructions, they were participating in the class from home. However, due to rapidly deteriorating condition in their homeland, they wanted to come out of their country and join the hostels on campus,” said IIT Bombay director Subhasis Chaudhuri.
Officials at IIT Guwahati said there are no Afghan students currently enrolled at the institute but they look forward to welcoming them in the next batch.
“While IIT Guwahati currently does not have any Afghan students, we are happy to welcome Afghan students who may qualify for courses in our institute in the upcoming batches,” an institute spokesperson said.
