Similar predicament for those who got admission but are stuck at home due to pandemic
Students from Afghanistan studying at Jawaharlal Nehru University — who are nearing completion of their courses — are a troubled lot as they fear going back to their country due to its current crisis.
There are currently 12-13 students from Afghanistan studying at JNU. Three of the students secured admission last year but have not been able to attend classes on campus as they have not been provided visas to travel. With the JNU announcing admissions for the current year, students fear that they will not be able to avail the opportunity due to the crisis in Afghanistan.
An Afghan national, studying at the School of Social Sciences, said he is nearing the completion of his MA course and his visa expires next month. He said he cannot afford the cost of the PhD programme at JNU for foreign students. “I have been staying on campus throughout the pandemic but now, as I am in my terminal year, I will have to leave. I fear going back to my country as the situation is highly dangerous there and is only deteriorating. My family too advised me to try to get an extension of my visa,” the student said.
JNUSU writes to V-C
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) said they will take up the issue with the administration and Union Ministries concerned to help the students. JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said: “One of the students who secured admission last year is a woman. She approached us to help as she fears that she may have to discontinue her studies if she remains in Afghanistan.”
The JNUSU, in a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, said with each passing day, the Taliban is gaining ground in Afghanistan. The union demanded that the students concerned be given permissions for their visas along with hostel accommodation on an urgent basis.
“Other universities in Delhi have granted students in similar circumstances the requisite permissions for visa. But, the JNU is yet to do the same for its students from Afghanistan. The students have also written to the Dean of Students and other officials multiple times but did not get any reply,” the JNUSU alleged. The Dean of Students was contacted but did not respond.
A female Afghan student, who secured admission in 2020 in MA Sociology at JNU, said she has finished one semester online but has been desperately reaching out to the administration for a letter that will help her get a visa to travel to India. “I have sent multiple emails, messages to the JNU administration, asking them for a letter to process my visa. I fear that the Taliban will strike the Kabul Airport soon. The Indian Embassy in Kabul has told me that they can process my visa within two days if I have a letter from JNU...I need a yes or a no from the university. If they say that they are not going to give me the letter, I will make plans to go elsewhere. All I need is an answer,” she said.
Students from Afghanistan studying at Jawaharlal Nehru University — who are nearing completion of their courses — are a troubled lot as they fear going back to their country due to its current crisis.
There are currently 12-13 students from Afghanistan studying at JNU. Three of the students secured admission last year but have not been able to attend classes on campus as they have not been provided visas to travel. With the JNU announcing admissions for the current year, students fear that they will not be able to avail the opportunity due to the crisis in Afghanistan.
An Afghan national, studying at the School of Social Sciences, said he is nearing the completion of his MA course and his visa expires next month. He said he cannot afford the cost of the PhD programme at JNU for foreign students. “I have been staying on campus throughout the pandemic but now, as I am in my terminal year, I will have to leave. I fear going back to my country as the situation is highly dangerous there and is only deteriorating. My family too advised me to try to get an extension of my visa,” the student said.
JNUSU writes to V-C
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) said they will take up the issue with the administration and Union Ministries concerned to help the students. JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said: “One of the students who secured admission last year is a woman. She approached us to help as she fears that she may have to discontinue her studies if she remains in Afghanistan.”
The JNUSU, in a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, said with each passing day, the Taliban is gaining ground in Afghanistan. The union demanded that the students concerned be given permissions for their visas along with hostel accommodation on an urgent basis.
“Other universities in Delhi have granted students in similar circumstances the requisite permissions for visa. But, the JNU is yet to do the same for its students from Afghanistan. The students have also written to the Dean of Students and other officials multiple times but did not get any reply,” the JNUSU alleged. The Dean of Students was contacted but did not respond.
A female Afghan student, who secured admission in 2020 in MA Sociology at JNU, said she has finished one semester online but has been desperately reaching out to the administration for a letter that will help her get a visa to travel to India. “I have sent multiple emails, messages to the JNU administration, asking them for a letter to process my visa. I fear that the Taliban will strike the Kabul Airport soon. The Indian Embassy in Kabul has told me that they can process my visa within two days if I have a letter from JNU...I need a yes or a no from the university. If they say that they are not going to give me the letter, I will make plans to go elsewhere. All I need is an answer,” she said.
