Foreign scholars write minister, reject 56% allowance cut

Stranded foreign scholars under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship have written to the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, and pleaded for the reversal of the 56 per cent deduction in allowances.

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 According exclusively 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.

In a letter addressed to the minister on Friday and obtained exclusively by our correspondent, the scholars begged the minister to reverse the deduction.

The scholars said they wrote “to formally express our concern and strong opposition to the recent decision to reduce the supplementation allowances, as communicated in your letter dated 23rd of July 2024.”

“Honorable Minister, Sir, we appreciate the efforts of the Nigerian government in ensuring that we, the beneficiaries of this scheme, are well taken care of so that we can pursue our education without distractions. On our part, we have remained committed to our studies despite the financial hardship and have never been found wanting for crimes or any illegal activities.

“Sir, we have been struggling to survive for 13 months without the stipend and many of us have resorted to taking loans to pay our bills in the hope that this payment will be made to offset them. In the face of increasing global economic challenges and inflation.

“The 56% reduction in this stipend will leave us with little or no means of survival, as it is not even enough to pay our house rent, light and water bills, transport and food, as well as other necessities. The monthly allowances provided to overseas scholars are critical in ensuring that they can focus on their academic pursuits without undue financial stress. These allowances cover essential living expenses, such as housing, food, transportation, and educational materials, all of which are often significantly higher in foreign countries,” they added.

Speaking further in the letter, the scholars demanded full payment of the amounts owed over the past 13 months

“The UNBEA scholars have, therefore, decided not to accept this payment as stated in the mandate. We request that the FSB pay us the number of months that this total amount paid to various embassy’s account can afford to at the 500 USD per month as stated in our award letter, and that the remaining months be completed when the funds are made available.”