Foreign scholars protest 56% allowance cut, fear expulsion

Foreign scholars under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship, on Wednesday, lamented the sudden deduction in allowances by the Federal Scholarship Board.

Some of the affected scholars and parents, who spoke to our correspondent in Abuja, lamented the government’s decision, expressing fears of expulsion and deportation.

The scholars noted that the government had failed to release their allowances for over 13 months, leaving them to source for their means of survival in foreign countries.

The BEA scholarship is for the purpose of education exchange between Nigeria and the partnering countries.

The Federal Scholarship Board is supervising the scholarship under the Federal Ministry of Education.

The PUNCH reported how the Federal Ministry of Education announced a slash in allowances for foreign scholars, who are currently stranded in Russia, Morocco, and Algeria, among others.

The ministry attributed the development to economic crises.

The government’s decision to slash the scholars’ allowances was contained in a memo signed by the Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, Ndajiwo H.A., on behalf of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.

“After due consultations, the Federal Scholarship Board has come up with adjustments in line with budgetary provisions in the payment of BEA scholar’s supplementation allowances for the 2024 academic year,” the memo, dated July 23, 2024 and addressed to the scholars’ association, read.

Speaking with our correspondent on condition for fear of being victimised, one of the scholars said the students had been owed roughly 14 months before the government raised the matter of deduction.

“We the BEA students have been owed roughly 14 months’ worth of stipends (from June 2023 to July 2024). Undergraduate students are entitled to $200 annually for medical insurance, $250 annually for warm clothing, $500 per month as a supplementary allowance, and an additional $500 annually for medical students.”

Postgraduate students receive warm clothing and medical insurance allowances annually along with $1,000 monthly. Graduates receive an additional $2,500 at the end of their studies.

“Yesterday (Tuesday), on July 23, 2024, we received a letter stating that our stipends for the 2024 academic year would be reduced.“The Federal Ministry of Education cut a hefty 56% from the monthly stipend of undergrad students, 50% from postgraduate students’ stipends, and 20% from the graduate allowance without consulting us. They didn’t consider our living conditions before making these cuts. It’s utterly inconsiderate and not what we signed for in the contract (award letters)

“We were just getting by on the previous allowance, even though it was irregular. Not only had they left us hanging for over a year, but they’ve now compounded our problems with significant reductions in stipends. We still don’t know when we’ll be paid. They should have considered raising our stipends instead of slashing them.

“The Russian education system is challenging. Many of us students may have to risk expulsion by working to make ends meet. Missing classes isn’t taken lightly, with schedules from Monday to Saturday, sometimes as early as 8:30 am until as late as 8 pm. Furthermore, finding work as foreigners is tough.

“This situation affects not just BEA students in Russia but also those in other countries. We’ve already endured a lot and can’t continue living like this.

“While this scholarship is a bilateral agreement, Russia has always held up its end of the bargain, unlike our own country. It’s disheartening.

“I fear that students might face expulsion or deportation for not paying their bills, which include visa renewal, hostel rent, medical insurance, medical clearance, etc. It would be a shame for that to happen.”

Another student, who currently studies in Venezuela, noted that students had been depending on mosques and churches for financial support.

“Good morning, I really don’t have anything to say about this, only God knows how things are going. We have been surviving through our various religious methods. For us, Muslims, we get some foodstuffs from the mosque, they gift us food sometimes and also Christians brothers, they also gift them food at churches. So we have been surviving through this way.”

Another student, who is a beneficiary in Russia, said, “We were under the agreement to be paid $500 per month and we have not been paid since June 2023, which has resulted in students engaging in exploitative illegal labour, such as washing plates, and construction. I personally have worked in a soap warehouse and restaurant for 12 and 14 hours at a stretch with reduced pay against the agreement and the host country’s visa.

“A few months ago, after several agitations and representations by our parents, our parents were encouraged by the FG to take loans to the tune of millions because of the exchange rate and the rising cost of living in our host counties to send to us for our survival with the promise that the situation would be sorted out and our stipends would be paid, suddenly yesterday they released a memo slashing our stipends by 56%. How are we to pay back the loans or even survive?”

A director in the Federal Ministry of Education, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, blamed the exchange rate for the situation.

“Kindly note that the funds in the 2024 budget for servicing ongoing BEA Scholars in the BEA countries cannot service for January to December due to the current exchange rate of naira to dollar,” he said.