Two Pakistani Hindu refugee cousins have sought help from External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj after the IGNOU denied them admission for the want of student’s visa.
Kawesh Kumar and Wikeesh Kumar had approached civil rights group ‘Social Jurist’ following cancellation of their application by the IGNOU, which in turn tweeted to Swaraj seeking her intervention.
The authorities at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) said their norms for admission to foreign students don’t permit them to take in the cousins.
“IGNOU denies admission to Pakistani Hindu Refugee students for want of student Visa. Please help @SushmaSwaraj,” education activist Ashok Aggarwal tweeted.
Kawesh, who came to Delhi in January, has completed his schooling from Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education BS Sukker, Sindh, Pakistan. Wikeesh has passed out from Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan and has been living here since 2015.
“We want to take admission in the IGNOU but they refused because we do not have a student’s visa. We came here with our family on a visiting visa and since we don’t want to go back we apply for extension every time.
“In Pakistan also we faced many problems and now here we are facing problems with our admission,” Kawesh said.
When contacted, a senior IGNOU official said, “As per the norms, international students residing in India can pursue IGNOU programs for which they need to submit their admission forms along with a copy of valid study visa for the minimum duration of the programme”.
“A no-objection certificate from the Embassy concerned in India regarding study in IGNOU is also needed,” the official added.