Non- Payment Of Tuition: 23 Bayelsa Students Risk Expulsion From Russian Varsity

No less than 23 Bayelsa state students studying in Russia may be expelled from their respective institutions for their inability to pay their tuition.

The students who are on State Government scholarship have not been paid their allowances for 22 months by the state government, a development that could force the authorities of the Kursk state medical university where they are currently studying Medicine to expel them.

In a statement made available to Daily Independent on Friday, the students expressed worry that the state government was yet to pay their three semester’s school fees and other outstanding allowances.

“We are 23 in number ranging from 3rd year to final year (6th year). You may be aware of our plight concerning the irregular payments of our tuition fees and stipends.

“Virtually every year we are being stopped from attending classes because our government always delays the payment of our tuition fees, which places extra burden on our academics because every missed class has to be reworked according to the educational system here in Russia. 

“Right now as at the date of this letter, we have been driven out from class due to the non-payment of our tuition fees for this present academic year (2015/2016). We have not only been stopped from attending classes, the University has also threatened to expel us very soon because even our last semester’s tuition fees has not been paid,” the students alleged.

In the statement jointly signed by Botu Ebikewenemo, President; Peresuodei Tariladei and Mark Azibabhom; secretary and PRO respectively, the students said that they have not been paid their allowances “for 22 months and counting.”

“Almost all of us have had to borrow a lot and are literally begging from other international students in order to survive. This is getting even worse due to the economic sanctions on Russia, which has caused rising inflation rates in addition to the harsh and cold weather condition. 

“Our allowances which were running previously have been left unpaid for about four years now. These include: book allowance, clinical allowance, winter and health allowances. We are suffering, we are starving, and we are dying”, the students lamented.

When contacted, the State Commissioner for Information, Barrister Dan Kikile said government was doing everything within its reach to ensure that all the foreign students were adequately taken care of.

“Government is committed to meeting the welfare of our foreign students everywhere they are in the world. We are not only having issues with our Russian students. Government is doing everything possible to meet up with their demands and this is done batch by batch,” he said.

The Commissioner also noted that the government was constrained in meeting all its obligation at a fell swoop because of the present economic situation in the country following the downward slope in the price of oil at the global market.

“We are constrained at the moment due to lack of funds. However, we are committed to meeting their needs because the State Government wants quality professionals to consolidate of the solid foundation of a new Bayelsa State by Governor Seriake Dickson”.