The association of Nigerian Scholarship Students in Russia has kicked against the federal government announcement regarding the reduction of supplementation allowances for Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholars for the 2024 academic year.
In a letter addressed to the Federal Scholarship Board, the students urged the government to reconsider the decision and restore the old supplementary amount that reflects actual living costs.
The letter was jointly signed by Alabi Jeffrey, the president and Aniagboso Chukwuka, general secretary of the association.
It said; “Students, especially those in major cities, can barely survive on $500 due to the high cost of living. ANSSIR has been at the forefront of requesting an increment in stipends over the last three years.
“The majority of the scholars live in Moscow, Petersburg, and Kazan, where the cost of living is significantly rising annually. Such a reduction only throws more than 60% of the scholars into much bigger problems, especially given that students are legally not allowed to work, and raids by the Russian intelligence in those major areas have been recorded more often in recent days than in the past.
“Furthermore, this decision was made without consulting BEA scholars. Such disregard for our experiences fails to reflect the realities of living conditions in our host countries. We firmly oppose this decision, which we consider unjust and detrimental to our well-being.
“The rationale provided for this reduction is unacceptable. Fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate have long been an issue; it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that supplementary funds are available to cover budget shortfalls, rather than shifting this burden onto students.
“In light of this, we formally write to reject this reduction, and appeal that FSB revert to the original supplementary budget as captured in our contract, which entitles every scholar to $500 extra.
“We understand that this will cause a shortfall in the 2024 budget, just as in 2023. We BEA scholars in Russia, have decided FSB pays whatever amount they have at hand while we wait for the government to outsource funds for all the shortfalls in our budget.”
