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HomeIndiaEducationIndia-Pakistan tensions over Pulwama won't affect SAU admissions, says university

India-Pakistan tensions over Pulwama won’t affect SAU admissions, says university

South Asian University, the Delhi-based institute conceptualised as a solidarity initiative by 8 SAARC nations, has test centres in Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore.

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New Delhi: The current spate of tensions between India and Pakistan over the 14 February Pulwama attack has seen New Delhi hit out at Islamabad in different ways, including by withdrawing the most favoured nation status and hiking customs duty on imports.

But one area where the retaliation is unlikely to manifest is education.

As its admission season opened Thursday, the South Asian University (SAU), the Delhi-based institute conceptualised as a solidarity initiative by the eight SAARC nations, said there was no change in its policy regarding Pakistani students.

“We have advertised for admissions in Pakistan, there is no change in the policy,” said an official SAU spokesperson. “In fact, this year, we are expecting to get more students as compared to last year because we have increased the test centres in Pakistan, and it will give avenue to more students.”

The SAU, which launched operations out of a makeshift campus in 2010, has test centres in Peshawar, Karachi and Lahore, with Islamabad likely to be added to the list this year.

Asked if they expected a fall in the number of applicants from Pakistan, the spokesperson said SAU “alumni… are testimony in themselves to attract more students”.

“Status quo has remained whenever relations have soured in the past as well,” the spokesperson added.

“Last year, we did have fewer students from Pakistan but that was because some of them did not get a visa a year before that,” the official said.

As reported by ThePrint in April last year, none of the eight Pakistani students selected for SAU in 2017 could get a visa to come to India, following which the number of applications declined in 2018.


Also read: Dozens of Kashmiri students take shelter in Punjab over security fears after Pulwama attack


50% of students Indian

Currently, there are six students from Pakistan studying at SAU, which offers Master’s and PhD programmes.

According to university data, most students at SAU are from SAARC member states — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka — though others can apply as well. Around half these students are from India.

The university said in its press release Thursday that the entrance test for 2019 will be the first to be computer-based.

“Applicants can take the tests on scheduled slots on 27 and 28 April 2019 across multiple cities/centres in South Asia,” the SAU statement added.


Also read: Kashmiri students in Delhi fear for safety as Pulwama attack protests gain ground


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1 COMMENT

  1. Praiseworthy. We need to create islands of amity that remain unaffected by the storms that often roil the larger relationship. Cricket suggests itself as one of the activities that should be insulated from hostility.

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