Godswill Akpabio, the senate president, has directed a probe into the financial struggles of Nigerian students abroad.
The inability to pay the tuition has also forced some of
them to juggle jobs or take loans from fellow African students.
They also seek help from family members whose monetary aids
have become insignificant due to foreign exchange fluctuations and the
depreciating value of the naira.
Sometimes, these students also sell personal belongings to
make ends meet.
During plenary on Tuesday, the senate urged the federal
government to punish officials who may be responsible for the challenges faced
by the students.
Salihu Mustapha, the lawmaker representing Kwara central
senatorial district, raised a motion on a matter of urgent importance.
“These scholarships are part of a broader initiative to
promote specialised education through partnerships with foreign institutions,
facilitated by entities such as the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB), under the
federal ministry of education,” he said.
“There are reports of Nigerian students facing hardships in
Algeria, China, Morocco, Russia, and the United Kingdom due to non-payment of
tuition and living stipends, leading to negative media coverage and national
embarrassment.
“The recurrence of these issues suggests systemic failures,
despite previous interventions by this distinguished chamber to prevent such
situations.
“The federal government’s failure to meet its financial
commitments under these international agreements for over 10 months will jeopardise
the welfare and academic progress of the affected students.
“The failure to fulfil these obligations not only undermines
our national reputation but also poses significant diplomatic concerns and
risks, pushing our students towards unlawful activities to sustain their
livelihood abroad.”
In its resolution, the senate summoned Tahir Mamman, the
minister of education, and the FSB over the delay in the payment of outstanding
grants to the students.
The lawmakers asked Mamman to submit a detailed report on the status of all Nigerian students under international scholarship programmes, including an analysis of their unpaid entitlements.
The upper chamber asked Akpabio to carry out a holistic
investigation into the matter and ensure that necessary measures were taken to
rectify the situation.
Akpabio also directed relevant committees to probe the
matter.
BACKGROUND
Nigeria has a bilateral education agreement (BEA) with some
countries in Africa, Europe, North America and Asia.
Some of the countries are Russia, China, Hungary, Morocco,
Venezuela, and Algeria among others.
These countries hand annual scholarship slots to Nigeria’s
federal scholarship board, which then proceeds to nominate indigenous
applicants by merit. The arrangement is meant to go both ways.
The host country undertakes to cover tuition and provide
hostel accommodation for the scholars, alongside some monthly or bi-monthly
allowance, depending on what is obtainable.
All Nigeria has to do is pay the awardees yearly allowance
of $200 for health insurance, $500 annually for medicals, and $500 in monthly
stipend for nutrition, books, equipment, and transport.
Slots for student lodges in destination varsities are always
limited. This means that most Nigerians end up paying $200 to $300 in monthly
rent, while depleting their $500 stipend which hardly arrives on time.
FSB is yet to resolve this with the BEA countries or provide
alternative accommodation.
The board continues to default, sometimes going for months
without disbursing these funds.
As of the time of writing, the latest spell has subsisted
for 12 months.
This has forced the students, some of whom are either
orphaned or have public servants living on N30,000 ($20.6 at N1,450/USD)
monthly minimum wage, to work long hours in odd underpaid jobs, squat with
foreign nationals, beg for alms, face eviction due to unpaid rent, ration food,
and be ridiculed abroad.
In 2023, Nigeria had 1,532 active BEA beneficiaries for
which N6.8 billion was budgeted for in 2024 at N800/USD 1 FX benchmark.
Government sources cite paucity of funds as the reason for
the unpaid stipends. Embassies in destination countries are out of options.
The ministers of education in Nigeria say they are taking
the matter up with the finance ministry.
The house of representatives is also looking to constitute a
probe panel to investigate the issue.
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