Government Fails Scholarship Students In Russia

…Medical students facing ejection from hostels as new students start interviews in Accra

Letters sighted by the Moscow Observer indicate 15 Ghanaian medical students studying in Moscow, Russia face ejection if their hostel fees are not settled by the end of next week. Similar evidence is seen of students in the State University of Management and others within the Russian federation. Though similar delays occurred during the 2008 election year, this time it’s worsened by the unprecedented decision of the Ghana Embassy in Russia, contrary to the terms of the scholarship, not to pay students their hostel fees, health refunds, project/research allowances … all of which students are to pay themselves from their monthly stipends which has also not been paid to date.

According to the students, for the past few years Government has not followed through with its promise as per the agreements and terms of the scholarship, to make payments for recognized School-related fees such as Hostel and academic registrations as well as proven costs of Medicare. The students have been forced to make these payments themselves out of their meagre monthly stipends which have not been paid for some time now. A distress call by a student in Siberia expressed anger and frustration at Government’s undue delay in paying the stipends, exposing Ghanaian students to ridicule. Anonymous but credible sources close to the Ghana embassy in Russia said “for close to a year the Scholarship secretariat has not sent any money here...we used our resources to pay the students but now we are out of cash ourselves. It’s tough out here… we are in bad times” when asked why the mission had not paid the students.

Much earlier the students had complained of the difficult economic situation in Russia and the need for a thorough review of the conditions of their scholarships. However, contrary to their expectations of an upward review, their research/project allowances were stopped, their shipment allowances were slashed by half, and the Scholarship Secretariat washed its hands off the payments for hostel fees as well as suspension of refunds for costs of Medicare. All these unprecedented cut-backs of allowances which had existed for close to 17 years began just a little over a year ago to the shock of students who now have to make all these payments out of their already insufficient stipends. The Government’s inability to pay the monthly stipends has now placed the students in an incredible difficulty and unrest. The President of the student union Mr. Frank Adusei Poku has called for calm among the students as he liaises with the scholarship secretariat through the Ghana embassy to quicken the release of the stipends. Officials of the Ghana mission intervened to plead with some of the institutions not to throw the students out of the hostels for the unpaid hostel fees which Government doesn’t want to have anything to do with but this time the institutions appear to say they are fed up with unfulfilled promises. One student questioned “where in the world can you hear of a full Government Scholarship that excludes payment for lodging, this is outrageous” Meanwhile checks by the Moscow Observer revealed all final year students who completed last year kept their vow and went back home after completion of their various courses to put their knowledge to the service of Ghana. All the Government sponsored Medical Students that sat for the Ghana Medical and Dental Council’s Exams passed successfully with only a three month refresher course at the Tamale Teaching Hospital instead of the 6-months mandated time period and are currently serving in Hospitals across the country.

The students firmly believe the scholarship secretariat has failed and called on the Administration of the Scholarship Secretariat to sit up. They have a hard time believing that they would be made to go through such harsh unprecedented conditions when both the Vice President H.E. John Mahama and the Education Minister, Mr. Lee Ocran studied in the Russian Federation and are fully aware of the difficulties students face in Russia where it is against national laws for foreign students to work.

It is therefore their hope that the Government will urgently act to intervene for a quick release of their stipends.