E-Paper
State panel to be formed to help Afghan students: Uday Samant
Education minister Samant assured the Afghan students that the state government would write to the Centre regarding student visa
PUNE The Maharashtra government announced on Sunday that it will form a committee to address issues faced by Afghan students currently in the state, especially with respect to fees at private colleges,” said Uday Samant, Maharashtra’s minister of higher and technical education. He was speaking during an interaction with Afghan students in Pune on Sunday.
He also assured the students that the state government would write to the Centre regarding students who’s visas are expiring.
Maharashtra has the second largest number of students from Afghanistan, after New Delhi.
“We will hold a state-level meeting about the problems faced by Afghan students. We will also reach out to the central government regarding the visa expiry of a few students. We will address the fee issues and visa issues. We will need the next seven or eight days to devise a formula to help Afghan students in Maharashtra and Pune,” said Samant.
Wali Rahman Rahmani, president of the Afghan students association, said that the situation in Afghanistan is known to everyone.
“Students are facing larger problems physically, psychologically and financially. We need the Indian government to support us the most. There are students who are in need of extending their scholarships for the next year. Many families are not able to extend financial help. There are self-financed students who are in dire need of financial help,” said Rahmani.
Many students whose visas are about to expire need immediate assistance from the Indian government, Rahmani added.
Rasheeda Shahbadi, studying for her Master’s in Arts (MA) in Politics, said that she now wants to pursue her PhD.
“I need a visa extension for the same. Many Afghan students need help financially and emotionally,” she said.
Samant said that the government of Maharashtra stands with the Afghan students.
He urged private universities to help students from Afghanistan in every way possible.
Speaking about the Common Entrance Test (CET), Samant said that dates for the same will be released soon.
“I had released tentative dates for the CET, but those were tentative. The new dates will be released in the next few days,” added Samant.
He added that there are rising cases of Covid in some areas. “In such a scenario, reopening of colleges is not safe for students and hence, the decision is on hold,” said Samant.
He also added that everyone should follow Covid norms to avoid the onset of the third wave.
