By Afolabi Samuel Odunayo
The Federal Ministry of Education has announced the Federal Government’s decision to slash scholarship allowances of foreign students from $5,650 per student to $4,370.
Announcing this through a memo signed on July 23, 2024 by the Director of the Federal Scholarship Board, Ndajiwo H.A., on behalf of the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, the ministry said the decision was due to the economic situation the country is currently facing.
“The Scholars’ Association is hereby notified that due to the prevailing economic situation, the payment mandate for the BEA scholars’ allowances will be as per the new adjustment,” the ministry said.
Recall that Nigerian students studying in Russia, Morocco, Algeria, China, Hungary, and other nations under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement Scholarship had bemoaned their unpaid stipends for eight months in a row.
The scholarship scheme, overseen by the Federal Scholarship Board, is set to undergo changes as outlined in the memo.
“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,” part of the memo reportedly read.
The document further detailed that the PG research allowance saw a cut from $1,000 to $500, the graduation allowance from $2500 to $2000, and the monthly allowances from $500 to $220, respectively.
The amount which each student will now be paid is $4,370 as opposed to the $5,650 that was initially being paid.
The Federal Ministry of Education however assured the foreign scholars of the federal government’s immediate solution to their much talked about financial constraints.
“The balances for the years 2023 and 2024 owed to scholars will be paid as soon as the funds are made available,” the ministry noted.
