The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to reduce fees for Afghan students studying in public sector medical and dental colleges in the province.
The step was taken on the recommendation of Khyber Medical University (KMU) Peshawar, after which the fees of Afghan students would be made equal to those of Pakistani students.
The decision was made following a meeting between the KMU vice-chancellor, Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq, and senior officials of the Afghan Consulate in Peshawar.
As per details, the university had fixed the annual fee for Afghan students at Rs. 800,000 for the current session. The officials of the Afghan Consulate officials raised the issue with the KMU authorities. The KMU VC promised to take up the matter with the provincial government, and on his recommendation, the provincial government has ordered KMU to charge an annual fee of Rs. 50,000 from Afghan students instead of Rs. 800,000.
The Afghan students and their parents have extended special thanks to the provincial government and KMU for this decision.
Meanwhile, the VC appreciated the decision of the Department of Health to make a significant reduction in the fees for Afghan students and hoped that this decision would not only provide opportunities for Afghan students to continue their education, but also improve Pak-Afghan relations.
Prof. Dr. Zia ul Haq said that the recent decision to reduce the fees of medical and dental colleges was in addition to the concessions under which thousands of Afghan students were availing scholarships worth millions of rupees in the form of the Allama Iqbal Scholarship by the Higher Education Commission.
