FG directs embassies to slash foreign scholars’ allowances

The Federal Government, through the Federal Scholarship Board, has sent payment mandates to foreign embassies where foreign scholars under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Educational Agreement scholarship are schooling, The PUNCH can confirm.

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 PUNCH 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 scholars had also been owed for several months with a number of them confirming to our correspondent that they had resorted to taking loans to survive.

The ministry attributed the allowance cut to economic crises.

The government’s decision to slash the scholars’ allowances and promises to pay the outstanding owed 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.

Speaking to our correspondent on Monday, one of the leaders of the scholars’ association in Russia, Ronald Donald, noted that the scholars were aware that a payment mandate had been sent to the various embassies.

“FSB sent the payment mandate to the embassies two weeks ago. The President from Algeria saw it; the mandate only carried payment for the readjusted amount (the $220). An Attaché of the Russian embassy told me in a phone call that the embassy got the mandate.”

Another scholar, who confirmed the development anonymously said, “Yes, the FSB noted that the mandate for the payment has been sent, so it’s just for the CBN to release the money. We are hopeful.”