South Asian University ends scholarships for Afghan students over funding dispute

South Asian University (SAU) has discontinued scholarships for Afghan students after concerns were raised by Bhutan over Afghanistan’s failure to pay its agreed financial contribution to the SAARC-funded institution.

SAU President K.K. Aggarwal said the university was compelled to apply the same standards to all member states after Bhutan objected to Afghanistan continuing to benefit from scholarships despite not contributing financially.

“We received objections from Bhutan that it was unfair for countries paying their share regularly. We have to be equal to all representing countries, hence we had to stop the scholarships,” Aggarwal told The Times of India.

University funding records show Afghanistan has not made any financial contribution since 2021, with its last recorded payment of $307,000 received in 2020. Sri Lanka has also not contributed since 2021, although university officials described its case as a delayed payment rather than a refusal to pay. Pakistan made a single payment of $69,921 in 2025 after several years without contributions.

Officials said there are currently no Pakistani students enrolled at SAU.

Aggarwal said the university has been unable to resolve Afghanistan’s funding issue because India does not formally recognise the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA)  administration, leaving no official communication channel with the country’s authorities.

“Since India has not formally recognised the Taliban (IEA) government, the university has been unable to establish an official channel of communication to resolve the funding matter,” he said.

The Afghan Embassy in New Delhi did not respond to requests for comment.

Despite ending the scholarship programme, Aggarwal said SAU remains willing to provide online education to Afghan students – particularly women – if Afghan authorities approve the arrangement.

He said the university continues to receive messages from Afghan students seeking to study, but many are unable to travel because of restrictions on women’s education and visa-related difficulties.

“We receive a lot of emails from Afghan students, many of them women, saying they want to study here but because of the ban on women’s education and visa-related issues they are unable to do so. How can a country progress if half of its strength is deprived of education?” he said.

Aggarwal added that scholarships could be reinstated if another SAARC member state or an external agency agreed to cover Afghanistan’s financial contribution. He also called on India’s Ministry of Education to consider extending Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarships to Afghan students wishing to study at SAU.

Funding data covering the period from 2021 to June 30, 2026, shows India remained the university’s largest contributor, providing $65.91 million. Bangladesh contributed $2.99 million, followed by the Maldives with $1.82 million, Bhutan with $1.35 million, Nepal with $1.26 million and Pakistan with $136,810.

Under SAU’s admissions formula, student places are allocated according to each member state’s agreed funding share. India receives 50% of seats, Bangladesh and Pakistan 10% each, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka 4% each, while the remaining 10% are reserved for students from outside the SAARC region.

University records show that during the 2024–25 academic year, SAU enrolled 10 students from Afghanistan, 23 from Bangladesh, 12 from Bhutan, 526 from India, 25 from Nepal and three from Sri Lanka. There were no students from Pakistan or the Maldives.

For the 2026 admissions cycle, the university received 157 applications from Afghanistan across undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes. However, no Afghan applicants ultimately enrolled.

The incoming class includes 73 students from India, seven from Nepal, six from Bangladesh and two from Sri Lanka, with no new students joining from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Pakistan, the Maldives or countries outside the SAARC region.