KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The UK government has discreetly suspended the prestigious Chevening scholarship program for Afghanistan applicants for the 2025-26 academic year, prompting concern and uncertainty among eligible students, especially amidst the relentless restrictions on women’s education under Taliban rule.
While applications for the 2025 intake opened to other countries on August 6, the portal for Afghan students remained closed, displaying the message: “Applications for the 2025/2026 academic year are currently closed. Eligibility for this year’s program is still under review. Please monitor this page for updates.”
The Chevening scholarship, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), has been in operation since 1983, identifying “future leaders, influencers, and decision-makers” across more than 160 countries.
The scholarship typically covers students’ course fees, as well as flights and accommodation. Approximately 25 Afghans are accepted into the program each year, with more than 360 Afghan students having traveled to the UK for postgraduate studies since the 1990s.
The international scholarship program has enabled hundreds of Afghan students to study at top British universities in recent years. The program’s website highlights its 60,000 alumni.
However, since the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, the Chevening program has only been accepting applications from Afghan citizens residing outside the country.
On August 12, over 50 Afghan alumni sent a letter to the FCDO seeking clarification, but only received a holding response indicating that the department was awaiting input from ministers, according to the London-based Hyphen Online news.
They have expressed that the apparent suspension of the scholarship has caused “significant anxiety” within the Afghan community, especially as the Taliban has barred women from attending universities inside Afghanistan.
The suspension of the program for Afghanistan students has also faced criticism from several British political figures, including former Conservative international development secretary Rory Stewart.
He told Hyphen Online that the scholarship had been “immensely valuable for generations of Afghans, providing exceptional opportunities and education to some of the brightest Afghan women and men.”
