On Tuesday October 20, Indian Ambassador to Tajikistan Viraj Singh along with First Deputy Minister of Education & Science of Tajikistan Muhammaddovoud Salomiyon and Charge d'affaires of Afghan Embassy in Dushanbe Jawad Shula inaugurated the ‘Computer Laboratory’ at Samanian High School, Dushanbe in the presence of the representative of Ministry of Education of Afghanistan Bashirullah Tawhidi and the school Principal Nazia Zahir.
According to the Indian Embassy in Dushanbe, the computer laboratory has been set up with the support of Government of India to cater to the technical educational needs of the 480 Afghan refugee children studying at the Samanian High School. Along with 25 computers, photocopier machines, multi-function printer-scanner-copier and projector with screen were provided to the school.
This is not the first time India has helped improve technical infrastructure of schools in Tajikistan. In 2017, Computer Laboratories across 37 schools in Tajikistan were set up with assistance provided by Government of India; this initiative was announced during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi to Tajikistan in October 2015.
The grant to Samanian High School highlights India’s commitment and continued support for the welfare of Afghanistan and its people even beyond the borders of Afghanistan. To-date, India has committed nearly 3 billion U.S. dollars for the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan and to alleviate the suffering of Afghan citizens.
With a view to build human resources and capacity of developing countries India offers tens of thousands of scholarships every year both for short term and university courses. In this context, India offers annually 200 Information Technology (ITEC) scholarships to Tajik professionals to enhance their technical and professional skills and another 25 scholarships to pursue degree courses in Indian Universities. Till date approximately 350 Tajik students have graduated from Indian Universities under this scholarship program and over 1500 Tajik citizens have benefited from training under the ITEC program.
