UK government freezes key education scholarship for Afghanistan students

The British government has apparently cut Afghanistan out of a key international scholarship which has historically enabled hundreds of Afghan students to study at top universities in the United Kingdom, causing significant concern particularly amid the continued clampdown on girls’ and women’s education within Afghanistan.

According to the online news outlet Hyphen, applications for the Chevening scholarship scheme’s 2025 intake opened to countries around the world on 6 August, allowing a select number of international students to benefit from the scheme and have their course fees, flights, and accommodation covered.

The portal for Afghan students remained closed, however, stating only that the “Eligibility for this year’s programme is still under review. Please monitor this page for updates.”Funded by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Chevening scholarship has operated since 1983 for the purpose of seeking out “future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers” in over 160 countries.

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Since the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the scholarship has not been open to people inside the country itself, but it has accepted those who fled Afghanistan and are now living in eligible third countries.

The freezing of the scheme for Afghan students has been condemned by a number of British political figures, including former Conservative international development secretary Rory Stewart, who told the outlet that the scholarship had been “hugely important for generations of Afghans, bringing unique opportunities and education to some of the most talented Afghan women and men”.

He stressed that the program “is particularly important now in Taliban Afghanistan and it would be a great tragedy if it were cut.”

Former Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, who chaired the Commons defence select committee during the UK’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, also stated that he would “strongly urge” the FCDO to reopen the scheme as “We need to be looking long term to help the next generation of Afghans”. He emphasised that “We can do that by helping those Afghan leaders, and we can help create those by educating them in the UK.”