Nigerian Students On FG Scholarship Now Beg For Food In Russia

[Shola Sholaz]

The Federal Government's inability to pay the allowances of about 322 Nigerian students on scholarship in Russia had forced them into begging and doing illegal jobs in order to survive.
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This shocking revelation was contained in a publication by Punch NG which went through the tribulations and suffering of students sent to study in Russia by the Federal Government as part of the Bilateral Education Scholarship Scheme.
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Nigeria has a Bilateral Education Agreement Scholarship Awards for undergraduate and post-graduate students with Russia, Cuba, Morocco, Algeria, Romania, Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Serbia, Macedonia, China, and Mexico. Under the arrangement, the Federal Government pays for the upkeep of the students, while the countries where the scholarship award is tenable provides the tuition.
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According to Moyosore Ojuri, one of the beneficiaries of the BEA scholarship, for eight months running the over 322 promising Nigerian students on the BEA initiative in Russia have not been paid a dime by the government. Each of the beneficiaries' monthly stipends for feeding is $500, while their annual allowance for medicals and clothing is $450 each.