Why fewer Afghan students, more Bangladeshis at Gujarat universities

Qiamuddin Andaish is an Afghan student enrolled in a PhD programme at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University in Gujarat’s Surat. He joined the course in 2022 and lives in Surat with his wife and two children, one of whom studies at a local school. His doctoral programme ends this year, and he is yet to decide what to do next.

Andaish is among a handful of Afghan students studying in universities in Gujarat. The number of Afghan students admitted to universities in Gujarat through the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR) has shrunk after the Indian government restricted scholarships offered to Afghan students to online courses.

The development followed the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021. This year's enrolment trends in Gujarat universities show students from African nations and Bangladesh have bagged the most scholarships offered by the Ministry of External Affairs through the ICCR.

Currently, around 1,400 students from over 60 countries are pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes under ICCR in Gujarat. This year (2026-27), around 350 fresh students have enrolled and over 55 per cent are from African nations, Subhash Singh, Gujarat's subzonal director of ICCR, told The Indian Express.