As students return to universities across Afghanistan this month, law student Waheeda Bayat will not be among them.

The 24-year-old was looking forward to resuming her course at the private Gawharshad University in Kabul, but amid an economic collapse that has dragged millions of Afghans into poverty, she cannot afford to go back.

"I'm so happy to see my university," she said, walking past her old campus on a recent sunny day.