By Nathaniel Zacchaeus Abuja
The Senate yesterday summoned the Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, and the leadership of the Federal Scholarship Board over the delay in the payment of outstanding grants of Nigerian students who are allegedly stranded in many countries across the world.
The upper chamber also asked the Federal Government to impose appropriate sanctions on the officials of the Federal Scholarship Board and the Federal Ministry of Education who are responsible for the pain and suffering the innocent students are going through abroad.
The Senate said the unfortunate development was affecting the integrity of Nigeria abroad.
The Red Chamber said the Minister of Education would provide a detailed report on the status of all Nigerian students under international scholarship programmes including a breakdown of their unpaid entitlements.
The Senate resolution followed a motion on a matter of urgent importance moved by the Senator representing Kwara Central Senatorial District, Salihu Mustapha.
The Senate in Plenary equally urged the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio to as a matter of urgency, carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and ensure that necessary measures were taken to rectify this situation promptly.
The Senator explained that the Federal Government awarded annual scholarships to outstanding students from across the country to further their (graduate/undergraduate) studies internationally, thereby fostering a cadre of exceptional professionals for national development.
He said, “These scholarships are part of a broader initiative to promote specialized education through partnerships with foreign institutions, facilitated by entities such as the Federal Scholarship Board under the Federal Ministry of Education.
“This initiative supports the Government’s commitment to Bilateral Education Agreements (BEA) and Multilateral Agreements with Commonwealth and other international partners.
“Reports of Nigerian students facing hardships in Algeria, China, Morocco, Russia, and the United Kingdom due to non-payment of tuition and living stipends, leading to negative media coverage and national embarrassment.
“The recurrence of these issues suggests systemic failures, despite previous interventions by this Distinguished Chamber to prevent such situations.
“The Federal Government’s failure to meet its financial commitments under these international agreements for over ten months will jeopardize the welfare and academic progress of the affected students.
“The failure to fulfil these obligations not only undermines our national reputation but also poses significant diplomatic concerns and risks pushing our students towards unlawful activities to sustain their livelihood abroad.”
