Foreign Scholars Under Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship Protest Allowance Cuts

A group of foreign scholars under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship has expressed disappointment and frustration over the sudden deduction in their allowances by the Federal Scholarship Board. The scholars, who are currently stranded in Russia, Morocco, and Algeria, among other countries, claim that the government has failed to release their allowances for over 13 months, leaving them to source for their means of survival.

According to the scholars, the government’s decision to slash their 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. The memo, dated July 23, 2024, and addressed to the scholars’ association, stated that the decision was made to align with budgetary provisions in the payment of BEA scholar’s supplementation allowances for the 2024 academic year.

Ronald Donald, one of the affected scholars, lamented the situation, saying, “Firstly, students have stayed 13 months without stipends, just promises upon promises. Now, the only thing the FSB could come up with is to reduce the stipends. Let me give you an idea of how living in Russia and Morocco looks like; in Russia, a student needs a minimum of $300 to survive, while in Morocco, students don’t have hostels provided for them, and they rent apartments at a starting price of $200 a month.”

Donald also revealed that some students had taken loans to finance their studies, and with the sudden reduction in their stipends, they are struggling to pay back the loans. “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 labor such as washing plates, and construction. I personally have worked in a soap warehouse and restaurant for 12 and 14 hours at a stretch respectively with reduced pay against the agreement and host country’s visa,” he said.

The scholars have expressed concerns about how they will survive with the reduced stipends, and some have taken loans from loan sharks. “Yes, several students took loans from even loan sharks because no one in this economy would loan millions to a student that doesn’t have a definite payback period or collateral,” said the student who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The government’s decision to slash the scholars’ allowances has been met with widespread criticism, with many calling for a review of the decision.