FOREX Rates Responsible For Adjustments in Foreign students Allowances – Minister

By Jack Acheme, Abuja

The Nigerian Government has clarified that it did not slash the allowances of students studying abroad under the Bilateral Scholarship Agreement as widely reported in the media but made some adjustments due fluctuations in the Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market.

The Minister of Education Professor Tahir Mamman made the clarification during a meeting with the Leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students NANS, in Abuja, Nigeria.

He said there was the need to set the record straight as there was no slash of the beneficiaries fund.

“We want to place it on record that the ministry and the Federal Government for that matter have not slashed the allowances due to students.
“What happened was due to fluctuations in the FOREX market. So we have to cut our clothe according to our size. It was what was available in the budget was used to pay the students. As soon as we get the balance we have applied for, we will pay them,” he said.

The Federal Ministry of Education through the Federal Scholarship Board, in a letter, had announced a reduction in the allowances of foreign students on scholarship in Russia, Morocco and Algeria, among others under the Bilateral Education Agreement.