15 Afghan students get placement at NEIU. How is school going to pay for them?

NEIU will receive 15 Afgan students for the Spring Semester

Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) President, Gloria Gibson announced during an interview on “Good Day Chicago,” a news program at Fox 32 Chicago that NEIU will receive 15 Afghan students for the Spring 2022 Semester and cover the cost of tuition and fees for those who settle in Chicago or nearby areas. 

The Chicago area expects to welcome over 500 Afghan refugees in the coming months. As a way to welcome and guarantee a better future for them, especially for the women whose educational opportunities in Afghanistan have essentially disappeared, NEIU will provide free tuition to these 15 Afghan students that will join the “English as a Second Language” program (presumably) in the Spring 2022 semester. 

The announcement did not make clear where the fundings for this initiative will come from, but Gibson encourages donors or anyone who can help to get in touch with the university. These students will live on-campus at NEIU’s student housing, The Nest, at no cost as well. 

The starter of this initiative was Ann P. Kalayil, a member of NEIU’s Board of Trustees who is married to an Afghan. She told Fox 32 Chicago, “When we heard that young Afghans were being resettled in Illinois, Northeastern was willing to do our part in helping with the resettlement effort by providing them an opportunity for education. Northeastern Illinois University is committed to providing learning opportunities for all and especially for people who have come from difficult circumstances and need a jump-start.” 

Gibson also mentioned how an Afghan student at NEIU went back to Afghanistan to bring his family back to Chicago. “Through our board member and through our current Afghan students, we decided that we needed to do more to assist,” said Gibson.