The Zamfara State Government has said it is addressing the difficulties faced by students from the Northwestern state on scholarship at Cyprus International University, India, and Crescent University Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The state commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Wadatau Madawaki who stated this at a press conference in Abuja, identified the challenges to include the tuition fees, accommodation and feeding allowances and the poor handling of their issues by the previous administration of Alhaji Bello Muhammed Matawalle.
Madawaki alleged that the administration of former Governor Matawalle sponsored 93 Zamfara indigenes to study different courses at the Cyprus International University in the year 2020 but right from the beginning, the process was fraught with “dishonesty and outright selfishness.”
“No documentary evidence of any type showing ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ signed between the University and the previous administration that sponsored the students. All records available to the present administration at the Ministry of Education, Scholarship Board and the University showed that a ‘Consultant’ was hired who negotiated between the previous administration and the university, processed admissions and travelling documents for the students and delivered them to the university authority.
“In the negotiation, it was arranged that the students would be in a system that is tagged “Full package”. In that arrangement, the students’ accommodation and feeding were handed over to the university authority and that whether the students ate meal or not for whatever reason, they will be charged by the school authority as having eaten. That was a very unfair arrangement that has formed part of the difficulties faced by the students.
“From the year 2022, the previous administration abdicated from its responsibilities of funding the students’ studies at the Cyprus International University as tuition fees, accommodation and feeding allowances were not paid to the university authorities thereby exposing the students to hardships and difficult conditions…Five out of the 93 students left the university remaining 88,” he said.
The commissioner said, the attention of the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal was drawn to the difficult situation being faced by the students in Cyprus after taking over reigns of powers and he quickly directed the Secretary to the State Government to engage with the university and find out what was the burden of debt being owed by the state government.
Madawaki stated that the Secretary to the State Government arranged a Zoom meeting with the university authorities, which presented an outrageous debt profile owed by the government even when they had stopped the students from attending lectures for almost one year and charged feeding money even when the students had not taken meals for almost one year.
He said the government refused to accept that, as it was meant to shortchange the government but to demonstrate its willingness and sincerity in addressing and resolving the issues, on November 13, 2023 the sum of N84.700 million equivalent to €70,000.00 (Euros) was sent to the university authority as part payment for the tuition fees pending reconciliation of accounts between the two parties.
He said: “On the 16th November 2023, the sum of N30.932 million, equivalent to £ 21,573 (British Pound), was handed over to the students leader by name Isah Muhammed to pay for the student’s accommodation between three to six months. Upon receipt of the part payment for the tuition fees the school authority promised to look into its records reconcile its figures and relay to the state government the actuals accordingly.
“However, that they could not do so up until the end of March 2024 when the rent of those with three (3) months expired and that prompted the Commissioner of Education to send the sum of Nine million, Nine hundred thousand Naira only to the students to pay additional three months in order for them to be at par with those who paid for six months. The Ministry of Education, through the State Scholarship Board continue to engage the university authority on the reconciled figures but that was not forthcoming.
“In view of that and the difficulties the students are facing, the Executive Governor decided to send a delegation of three government officials to Cyprus to interface with the university officials directly with a view to solving the issue once and for all. However, before embarking on the official trip by the officials, the sum of one hundred million Naira only (N100m) equivalent to Sixty one thousand Euros only (EUR61,000.00) as at then, was paid into the university account on 5th June 2024 being reduction in fees owed by the state government.
“On the 14th of August 2024, the officials arrived Cyprus in company of two diplomatic staff from the Nigerian embassy, Ankara, Turkey. The team carried out the following assignments; met with all the 88 students one after the other, met with the bursary department of the university under the chairmanship of the head of Promotion and international affairs, Professor Majid Hashemipur.
“The bursary department refused to disclose to the registry that the university was not supposed to charge students tuition and accommodation as well as feeding fees, as they were the ones that stopped the students from attending lectures and sent them out of their accommodation.
“With the above scenario, the present administration of Governor Dauda Lawal should be commended, for sorting out the embarrassing damage caused by the administration of Governor Matawalle including non payment of scholarship for sponsored students to India, those sponsored to Crescent University Abeokuta.
“Finally it should be noted that process has reached advanced stage for the payment of the following; one year accommodation fees, six months feeding allowance, renewal of the students expired passports, the renewal of the students resident permit.”
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