The Federal Government says it has released N9.5 billion for the payment of backlog of scholarship allowances owed Nigerian students at home and abroad up to December 2018.
The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who was represented by Alhaja Asta Ndajiwo, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja at the weekend.
Adamu said that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari had already expended over N800 million in 2018 for the payment of scholarship stipends to students at home and abroad.
According to him, with the current release, the administration will be spending a total of N10 billion for payment of scholarship to students in the 2018 budget “and we are determined to do more’’.
”Let me use this opportunity to direct the scholarship board to immediately undertake all due processes required to clear the backlog of scholarship allowances owed Nigerian students both home and abroad.
”The Federal Government has already released the sum of N9, 752, 000 for this purpose.
”In the third edition of our weekend press briefing, I informed you that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has already expended over N800 million in payment of scholarship stipend.
Adamu said that the board had inherited scholarship liabilities from the scheme operated by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
He said that these liabilities should be thoroughly verified before payment, adding that the board must ascertain that the admissions of such scholars were still valid and that the scholars were still currently pursuing their programmes.
He said that the number of scholarship applicants had risen to 30,000 as against the usual 12,000 applicants for the four scholarship schemes.
The minister therefore appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) to call off their prolonged strikes in the interest of Nigeria, parents and students.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria has four scholarship opportunities which can be enjoyed by students to further their academic pursuits.
They are the Commonwealth scholarship, the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship, the Federal Government scholarship and the Sustainable Development Goals scholarship.
However, the qualifying examination for the commonwealth scholarship had just taken place in Abuja on Jan. 17. (NAN)
Nigerians studying in Russia under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) say that they are finding it increasingly difficult to continue with their scholarship in that country.
Under the BEA scholarship, the Russian Government takes care of the students’ tuition, while the Nigerian government pays each of the students 500 dollars monthly for their upkeep.
Mr Lawal Mustapha, President, Association of Nigerian Scholarship Students in Russia, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone from Samara, Russia, on Thursday that students were owed 20 months arrears.
“We are appealing to the Nigerian government to pay 20 months stipend arrears owed to us; we also plead that they pay us the stipend as at when due.
“The BEA award stipulates that the Nigerian government takes care of our living cost monthly with 500 dollars, while the host country pays the students’ tuition,” he said.
He said the Russian government had faithfully held up their end of the agreements by paying BEA scholarship students’ tuition as at when due.
“But unfortunately, the Nigerian government has not faithfully kept their own part of the agreement,” Mustapha said.
He said the students needed the money to pay for their accommodation, Visa renewals, health insurance cover, feeding and other bills.
According to him, the affected students have been living in hardship as many have been threatened with an eviction notice from their hostels and deportation.
“We have resorted to looking for other means to fend for ourselves by working illegally for long hours in the cold winter for meagre pay. We are suffering,” he said.
Reacting, Alhaja Asta Ndajiwo, Director, Federal Scholarship Board, said that efforts were being made to pay the students their outstanding arrears.
She said the board had forwarded memos to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to start payment of both 2017 and 2018 arrears of the stipend.
“The arrears will be paid to the scholars bank accounts,” she promised.
NAN reports that the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, during a news conference in Abuja on Thursday also assured the students that their arrears will be paid.
He said the Federal Government was committed to fulfilling its financial obligations to students pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate degrees both at home and abroad.
“On our part, we will do our utmost best to meet our obligations arising from all bilateral agreement as much as circumstances will permit.
“Nigeria under the Federal Government Scholarship, BEA and Commonwealth Scholarship Scheme, has 2,953 students studying abroad,” he said.
Adamu said that the balance of the 2018 appropriation had been released with focus to offsetting the arrears owed to students.
“It is important to note that since the inception of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the Federal Government has committed about N3 billion under the three schemes.
“As I speak, the balance of the 2018 appropriation has been released and preparation is on to pay the scholars,” he said.
No fewer than 753 Nigerian students under the BEA programme are currently pursuing various undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Russia; Algeria; China; Hungary; Morocco; Egypt; Cuba; Romania; Turkey; Ukraine, Tunisia and Serbia.
The Vice Chancellor, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Prof Akeem Gbajabiamila has said the deteriorating standard of education was a disservice to the present generation and beyond.
He spoke at the 70th anniversary of Anwar-ul-Islam College Agege, held at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja on Thursday.
The event featured a symposium titled “Quality education and national development” and a book presentation in honor of Jimoh Gbadamosi, a retired principal of the school.
He said unlike in the past when Nigeria was a Mecca of sorts for other African countries seeking quality education, the county had lost its glory to countries like Ghana, Tanzania and Gambia.
“These are countries we have always looked down on as not being well endowed as our own country! These countries have not only excelled but have put more of their citizens out of poverty and also put street children in schools. The real singular reason for their successes is the amount of money they are spending on education”.
Akeem who spoke as a representative of the founder of the school, Chief Bola Ajibola, said the seven percent given to education was not beneficial in terms of providing quality and has also encouraged learners to cram rather than understand.
“It is a disservice to our children and those coming behind. It is not that they are not able or capable to succeed but we have failed them. We have failed to spend enough to keep them going,” he said.
He explained that the inability of universities in the country to accommodate the over 1.5million students seeking admission yearly and the deteriorating state of education standard have invariably contributed positively to the net budget of education of other countries.
“Over the last 10 years the best 100 students in WAEC are from Ghana. Even the West African Surgeon exam has been dominated by Ghana in the last 10 years. All our students, even professors are falling behind, likewise the system. That is why we are not even in the top best 100 universities rating.
“Nigerian parents are quite resolute. The Net contributor and developer of the Ghana education system are the Nigerian parents. Nigeria parents spend $98 million in the Ghana education sector. The total budget for all its federal universities is less than that. And it is the only country that gives 25 percent budget to education as stipulated by UNESCO”.
Chairman of the event, Lateef Femi Okunnu urged the government to adequately fund the education sector.
Prof Basirat Oladipupo, Department of Human Kinetics, Sport and Health Education, Lagos State University explained that the gender apartheid placed the girl-child in a disadvantaged position, “which suppresses her potentials and destroys her self actualisation.”
She advised that the girl-child be educated to contribute to the development of the country.
The China Association of Science and Technology has reached out to three secondary school students to represent Nigeria at the upcoming World Adolescent Robotics Competition in China.
The students Tawakalitu Giwa, Oluwaseun Omotayo and Ayomide Adetunji were members of Team Nigeria to the First Global Robotic Olympics in Washington DC, United States (US.) last year, sponsored by Aramex and Doculand Nigeria.
The students were picked based on their outstanding performance at the First Global Robotic Olympics where Nigeria placed 25th out of the 163 teams from 157 countries, emerging third of the 41 African countries in attendance.
Similarly, five students will be representing Nigeria at the next First Global Robotic Olympics coming up in Mexico City this month.
Founded by philanthropic inventor Dean Kamen to inspire a passion for science and technology leadership and innovation among the world’s more than two billion youths, FIRST Global provides the framework for an Olympics-style robotics event that drives home the importance of obtaining the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills needed by future leaders to overcome the greatest challenges facing our world – today and tomorrow.
National Coordinator of the programme Mrs. Remi Willoughby, CEO, Roboglobal Educational Consulting said: “Without any doubt, Nigeria is slowly but gradually establishing herself on the map of technology developed nations. This may not be presently evident, however, it is an indication that progress is being made.”
According to her, “we have the right talents to compete successfully on the global stage and move Nigeria to a technology advanced nation, but we need the right support and encouragement and to do this, we need to quickly address the evident deficit in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in our educational system.”
Aramex and Doculand Nigeria Managing Director and co-sponsor of the First Global Project in Nigeria, Faisal Jarmakani said: “These children are building the foundation blocks for a technology advanced nation and in the next few years will become global icons paving the way for other children to follow. If they keep getting the right support and encouragement, without any doubt, we will soon join other countries of the world where science and technology have become the backbone of their economic development.”
Many Nigerian international students studying in the United States find it difficult to deal with the academic rigors of foreign universities.
Associate Director, International Students/Scholar, Central Connecticut State University, Toyin Ayeni stated this during an interview at an Education USA workshop in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ayeni, who is a representative of Education USA, disclosed that the major challenge for Nigerian students is that they are not well-oriented with the American academic system.
She also said that the students set out thinking they are aware of the technicalities, but are more than often mistaken.
“They believe that they know it, but tend to realize upon arrival that what they think they know is different from the reality of the situation.”
Ayeni urged applicants and prospective students to conduct proper research on all aspects and facilities of the schools they are interested in.
She harped on the importance of maintaining contact with the schools’ administrations.
“It is important to have a contact person there to answer all your questions and give you live feedback on what you are expecting of the institution before you get to the US.
“These steep differences, coupled with the culture shock of entirely dissimilar environs, often frustrate international students in the US.”
She commended Education USA for their work in helping international students find their footing while in a foreign territory.
“Education USA is a program put together by the US Department of State which assists prospective students with application processes, school research, and gives them information on SATs, ACTs, and other exams required to attain higher education in the United States.
“They encourage prospective students traveling to the United States and also recommend to them schools specific to their academic capabilities”
According to Ayeni, there are many financial-assistance programs made available to prospective students by Education USA for students who cannot afford part or all of their school’s tuition.
“We have our programs, and we also have connections to different schools in the USA.
“For some schools, mine inclusive, we have merit-based scholarships. Most public universities and colleges provide scholarships based on merit, especially SAT scores.
“Other schools give scholarships based on whatever criteria they see fit for their institution.”
There are no fewer than 11,710 Nigerian students currently studying in the United States of America, a recent report of the International Educational Exchange data released by the Institute of International Education (IIE) has revealed.
The latest figure also showed an increase of 9.7 percent over the previous year.
Overall, the number of African students in the United States climbed to 37,735, an increase of 6.7% from 2015/2016. Fifty six percent are pursuing undergraduate degrees and 28.7 % are involved in graduate studies.
Nigeria accounts for 31% of Africa’s students in the United States and ranks 12th in the world, having improved its standing from 14th a year ago.
Nigeria therefore retained its top ranking as the number one source of African students studying in the United States, according to the 2017 Open Doors Report released on Monday, November 13.
The country according to the report is followed closely by Kenya with a total of 3189 students and Ghana comes in third with 3111 students.
Nigerians are enrolled in more than 1,000 institutions in 51 U.S. states and territories. Eighteen percent of Nigeria’s students in the U.S. are studying in Texas. Other states with a large number of Nigerian students include New York, Florida, Massachusetts and Maryland.
In a statement issued by the US Embassy, Abuja, “This year alone, Nigerian students using EducationUSA services recorded $9 million in scholarships and financial aid awarded to newly admitted students. EducationUSA is a network of over 425 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries. The centers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the Consulate General in Lagos annually advise more than 60,000 prospective students at outreach presentations, weekly orientations, and college fairs.”
The report also said the overall number of international students in the United States increased by three percent over the previous year.
This marks the eleventh consecutive year of continued expansion of the total number of international students in U.S. higher education. During the 2016/2017 academic session, U.S. colleges and universities hosted a record high of 1.08 million international students.
About 20 Nigerians who are students in Cameroon and have been stranded over the closure of the Cameroonian borders have finally been able to return to school.
The Cameroon government had closed its borders with Nigeria over the agitation by the English-speaking part of the country to secede and create an Anglophone nation.
In the wake of the crisis many Nigerians who are students in the English speaking part of the country had fled to escape being cut in the crossfire. The closure of the border led to their being marooned at home while school was in progress.
However, during a stakeholders’ meeting for border communities organised by the United Nations Office for Drug and Crime (UNODC) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), some of the students were able to return to school following the intervention of officials of the NIS.
The students had complained to the stakeholders about their plight and had been promised by the NIS that their case would be tabled before the Cameroonian authorities.
They had complained that the immigration officials on the side of Cameroun were usually hostile to them because they (students) are English speakers and are viewed as supporting the agitation of those clamouring for the breakup of the country.
At the Nigeria-Cameroon border post in Mfum, Cross River State, some of the students who were in distressed mood lamented that their future were being toyed with even after they had presented all their documents to the authorities.
For instance, a medical laboratory science student at Bamenda University of Science and Technology, Fanus Ahmadu, said they are usually treated with disdain.
Another student of the university, Charles Gang, added that some of the officers usually feign lack of ability to speak English, thereby making room for no communication for both parties.
On her part, Rhoda Tanko said the treatment meted out to them is like they are not human, as they could be kept waiting for three hours for failing to part with some cash for the officers.
According to her, Cameroonians are placed on a queue different from that of Nigerians and it is only after completing the checks and screening on Cameroonians that Nigerians are then attended to.
The students accused the Cameroonian Police and Immigration of extorting money from them, before they could access their school. He said after having stayed at home for a year due to the crisis in the country, their school announced resumption recently.
More than 100 Nigerian students on scholarship in the United Kingdom universities could be deported home as early as this week except their fees are settled immediately, according to The Telegraph of London.
The students are said to be sponsored by a regional agency and some of them are saddled with debts of up to £20,000.
The name of the sponsor agency was not given in the report.
The report described the students as “some of the Nigeria’s brightest undergraduates.”
They have been told that they will not receive their degree certification even though many of them completed their courses in the last academic year.
The newspaper said some of the affected students claimed they have been warned they could be deported by Friday, October 20.
It said the Nigerian High Commission in London confirmed that 152 students had been caught up in the scandal, and that the sponsor agency had been left with a “draught of funding” due to a slump in Nigeria’s oil revenues.
The High Commission said in a statement that additional funding had been approved for 87 students.
There was no mention of how soon the bill would be paid.
The universities of Leeds and Essex said they “sympathised” with the affected students but declined to say whether their visas would be revoked.
They said that they were working closely with the Nigerian High Commission to resolve the dispute.
The University of Sussex claimed it had allowed one student to graduate, but declined to comment on whether their transcript had been withheld. It added that it had been providing “some financial assistance for living costs in cases of particular hardship.”
Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy, Mr. Aruna Amirthanayagam, said on Friday that 140 Nigerian students have received scholarships worth more than $6 million from different schools in the U.S this year.
Amirthanayagam stated this at the pre-departure orientation for the students organised by the embassy in Abuja.
The envoy said the students were awarded full and partial scholarships.
He said: “Today we celebrate the more than 140 young men and women, members of EducationUSA, who have received offers of admission and scholarships to attend U.S colleges and universities.
“The list of acceptances is quite impressive including more than 560 schools in all; among them are Boston University, Cornell University, Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University, to name a few.
“To support these Nigerian scholars, this year EducationUSA members received more than $6million in scholarships from these institutions.”
The envoy said some of the students got multiple offers from different schools which left them with choices to make.
He also said the objectives of the scholarships were mutually beneficial to both countries and the opportunity would help groom the next generation of leaders in Nigeria.
“The U.S offers some of the best educational institutions in the world and I believe that students going to study would benefit tremendously and so will the U.S,” he added.
He said more than 10,600 Nigerian students were currently studying in more than 980 colleges and universities in the U.S, according to the latest Open Doors Report of the Institute of International Education.
He said the figure was a 12 per cent increase from 2016 and also contributed to a five per cent increase for all of Africa.
“Nigeria continues to be the undisputed leader in Africa, sending more international students to the U.S than any other country on the continent, ranking number 14 among countries worldwide,” Amirthanayagam said.
Nigerian students on the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scheme in Russia and other European countries are helpless as infants. HANNAH OJO, who traced the plight of some of the students, reports that students of Rivers State origin under the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency scholarship scheme are also not spared in the hardship of unpaid allowances.
Many times I had to go to the lab on empty stomach and my supervisor will tease me about eating the wheat samples marked for experiments. We trek to campuses in the winter because we can’t afford public buses. We owe hostel fees. We borrow from other students to survive while the ladies face unspeakable options.
These were the words of Nigeria’s wonder boy, Ifesinachi Nelson Ezeh, who made history when he completed his master’s degree in Agronomy at Saint Petersburg State Agrarian University in Russia, graduating with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 5.0, the highest the country has ever recorded.
Nelson, who arrived in Russia for an undergraduate degree in 2008 with 40 other Nigerians who passed the federal scholarship exams, were beneficiaries of a Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) between Nigeria and Russia. Under the said scheme, Russia pays the tuition, while Nigeria takes care of the living costs of the students of the students with a monthly stipend of $500 dollars.
The scholarship is awarded to Nigerians under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) between Nigeria and a number of countries, including Russia, Cuba, Turkey, Egypt and others. At present, there are over 350 Nigerian BEA scholars in Russia from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory undergoing their undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate studies. Under the agreement, the Russian Federation takes care of the students’ tuition fees. The Russian government fulfils their side of the bargain as long as the student maintains a very good academic record.
Findings made by The Nation revealed that the stipends, which the Nigerian government is supposed to pay the students quarterly, have, however, not been consistent in the past seven years. The last two years have been particularly gruesome as payments were not made for 12 straight months between 2015 and 2016.
The cost of unpaid allowances is devastating to the scholars. The psychological impact is also immeasurable as the students live in fear of what could happen next.
“The financial insecurity adds to the academic cross. The school authorities are either on your neck or fellow students are asking for their money back. You can’t hide because the Russian law provides that you stay where you were registered,” added Ezeh, who likened trekking in cold spring morning to walking in a freezer.
We are asked to work as janitors to offset hostel costs
Their faces looked thinned with hunger and they appear grumpy in their winter jackets and backpacks. Many of them travelled long distances spending between 10 to 20 hours to get to Moscow, the Russia capital where a peaceful protest was staged to demand the payment of their 12 months long allowance.
“Is it fair? Pays us; Pay hostel allowance for medical students,” were some of the inscriptions on the placards the student displayed during their protest in October 2016.
Speaking on their grievances, the scholars alleged that the non-payment of their allowance was not occasioned by economic recession but incompetence and malpractices on the part of the scholarship board. The students recalled that as far back as 2014 when Nigeria had the largest GDP growth in Africa, they were owned allowances. In the protest video released online, one of the students said they are sometimes asked to work as janitors to offset their hotel bills.
“Many of us are high achievers. We represent our schools in various competitions. We are doing our own part and all the government does is to treat us anyhow. We have tried all diplomatic means but there was no response. It has gotten to the extent that a church had to set up a fundraiser for Nigerian students,” the leader of the protest said in a video obtained by The Nation.
In a recent chat, Faith Olapade, President, Association of Nigerian Scholarship Students in Russia told The Nation that after the protest in Moscow, the government reacted by paying a token which barely added up to two of the 13 months owed.
“What the government paid is not even enough to pay back what the students had borrowed to survive the 13 months of non-payment. We were also told that the token is part of our 2016 stipend. We really don’t understand why it is so since we are still being owed some months in 2015.
“The situation surrounding the Bilateral Education Agreement, the Federal Scholarship Board funding and students’ stipend is very complicated. We will appreciate if someone from the Federal Scholarship Board explains to us and the rest of Nigeria why the scheme pays in bits and we are subjected to suffering,” asked Olapade, a Computer Science student at Tver State Technical University, Russia.
Among other countries participating in the BEA with Russia, Nigeria is known for lateness and delays. For the instance, the new BEA scholarship students from Nigeria arrived in Moscow on November 9, two months after the 2016/2017 academic year started. This is aside from the fact that Nigerian students are also known for paying their hostel and insurance bills late.
“The non-payment of allowances has literally turned Nigerian scholars to beggars. Most of us can’t afford to eat even once a day and others can’t make it to classes due to the lack of transport fare. Some have even been evicted from their hostels because they could not pay the fee, while others are hanging on with a weekly threat of eviction.
“It’s really difficult for us right now as Russia is also going through an economic crisis and prices of commodities are inflated. Also, surviving the cold weather is difficult without warm clothing. To make matters worse, we all have student visas and this makes it legally impossible for us to earn on our own. The current economic crisis in Nigeria, unrealistic bank rates, strict laws of outbound transfer and recent limits put on ATM cards make it really difficult for our parents to assist us in these trying times.
“We are pleading with the government to remember us by coming through with the remainder of our 2015 stipends and full 2016 payment. We didn’t sign up to be scholars to suffer this way,” Olapade further stated.
A source who pleaded anonymity in the office of Bilateral Scholarship Board, Abuja confirmed to The Nation that the allowance for scholars in the BEA scheme is usually included in the annual budget of the ministry of Education.
Also, the BEA department is not known for honouring requests for information on some of its activities, even in some cases where an FOI request would have been made.
For the federal government scholars in Russia, calls made to the Nigerian Scholarship Board to inquire about their allowances are usually met with the response that the budget has not been implemented or they are waiting for the Central Bank.
A postgraduate student in Russia, who pleaded anonymity for fear of victimisation, told our correspondent that the hardship they face by non-payment of the allowance is made worse by the fact finding a job in Russia as an African is like finding a needle in a haystack.
“The image of Nigeria is at stake. Russia has bilateral education agreement with a host of countries but the Russians, from the workers at the Russian Ministry of Education to the staff of respective universities, will let you know that Nigeria will always bring their students late.
“Nigerian students will always be the last to pay for their hostel accommodation and they always ask for a grace period before they purchase the compulsory medical insurance. The list goes on.
“A number of churches where some of our scholars worship now organise fund-raising services to help out those of us who can’t pay for hostel accommodation so we don’t end up sleeping on the streets in the cold weather,” the student said.
Israel Ojonugwa Ibrahim, another Nigerian student in Russia, also decried the situation they are faced asking the government to help redeem their dignity as human beings.
“There are times when you weren’t sure of what to eat the next day. We try to look for jobs but to no avail because we are studying with students’ visa and it is not legal to work,” Ibrahim lamented.
Like FG, like Rivers
Another body that has reneged on its commitment to students on scholarship is the Rivers State Government. In December 2015, Governor Nyesom Wike concluded plans to withdraw Rivers students on scholarship in foreign countries back to Nigeria on the basis that the government can no longer continue to fund the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency’s oversea scholarship scheme.
The state Commissioner for Agric, Ominim Jack, was reportedly quoted to have said in a meeting with parents that the state government could no longer sustain the scholarship scheme as a result of the current economic situation in the country. Thereafter, the state government then initiated the transfer of the students back to Nigeria in order to continue at either the University of Port Harcourt or the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.
The development was greeted with disapproval from parents of the students, who also pleaded with Governor Wike to consider other means of sustaining the scholarship programme since some of the students were midway into their programme.
“The curriculum can never be the same,” one of the parents was quoted to have said.
However, it was learnt that before the governor reached the decision to stop the scheme in 2015, the students’ allowances were not paid for almost a year.
At the time the news of the planned deportation of Rivers state students abroad broke, a Canadian, Benedicte LeMaitre, from Winnipeg, took to GoFundMe a crowdfunding platform to raise $250,000 for some RSSDA students studying at the University of Manitoba in Canada. The fundraising did not turn out successful as only $944 was raised since 13 months ago when the campaign was launched.
Canada was home to nearly 250 Nigerian students who were studying at 14 Canadian universities on the RSSDA scholarship. On the average, international students pay $7,000 to $11, 000 tuitions per term for a full load of classes.
Kennedy Roland, a medical student studying at the University of Pecs Medical School, Hungary, confirmed to The Nation that only about seven of them were left since the government stopped paying stipends to students.
He said: “It’s been so bad that other students had to accommodate some of us. For 27 months and still counting, we have not been paid our upkeep. I’m being helped by a student who is accommodating and helping me with feeding. Sometimes, my family tries to send me money for feeding but it has not been easy since ATM has been stopped abroad.”
Roland, who hopes to graduate in the middle of 2019, has an outstanding $15,300 as fees for his third year. He is presently not able to pay for the current semester.
However, the Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Chinenye Ihuoma, said government owed the students $500 per person stipend for only one year and two months, not for two years as earlier claimed.
She added that the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, had given approval for the payment of the money.
“The FBS (Federal Scholarship Board) is awaiting the release of money to that effect,” Mrs. Ihuoma said, adding: “The debt is for all the scholars in our BEA (Bilateral Education Agreement) countries and not only Russia.
