UET to set up sub-campus for Afghan students

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced plans to set up a dedicated sub-campus of the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) for the Afghan students pursuing engineering studies in the provincial metropolis.

The announcement was made by special assistant to the chief minister on higher education and information Kamran Khan Bangash while speaking as chief guest at the orientation ceremony for the Afghan students, recently enrolled in the UET, Peshawar.

“Pakistan and Afghanistan have brotherly relations and both the neighbouring countries share the same religion, history, culture and borders,” he said.

But some international forces and internal elements on both sides are spreading the propaganda to create mistrust and disturb the cordial ties between the two countries, he added.

The special assistant said the provincial government was offering massive support to the Afghan students through scholarships and equal academic facilities like Pakistani students.

This is being done under the special directives of Prime Minister Imran Khan, he added.

Prof Dr Iftikhar Hussain, vice-chancellor of the university, welcomed the Afghan students to the UET Peshawar.

He said a total of 175 students have been enrolled in the ‘Zero Semester’ course who will apply to different universities after receiving foundation-level training for two months.

In addition to this, 132 Afghan students are already studying in the UET Peshawar at various undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

He said the government was offering scholarships to Afghan youth through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for capacity building through quality education.

The vice-chancellor said scholarships have already been awarded to 3,000 scholars in various fields including medicine, engineering, agriculture, and management, computer science, and others.

He said the aim of this scheme is to strengthen the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It will also enhance people-to-people contacts between the neighboring states, he hoped.

Dr Iftikhar Hussain said out of 25,000 Afghan candidates only 3000 qualified for the entrance test and they were sent to Pakistan for pursuing higher education.

As many as 1000 Afghan students have been enrolled for ‘Zero Semester’ at various public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The vice-chancellor said the UET Peshawar has 42 engineering and non-engineering disciplines, where BSc, Master’s, and PhD programmes are offered.

All the programmes are accredited under the Outcome-Based Education system which qualifies our engineers to compete in the international market and offer vast opportunities for admission and training for Afghan students.

Prof Dr Misbah, focal person for Afghan students, said the ‘Zero Semester’ consisted of basic level training in physics, chemistry, English and mathematics so that they become eligible to apply in their fields of interest for universities. He said 3,000 Afghan scholarships covers living and book allowance, hostel dues, and university tuition fees.