Nineteen beneficiaries of the Rivers State Overseas Scholarship Scheme studying in the United Kingdom have returned home without completing their programmes due to the failure of the state government to pay their tuition. The students returned to Nigeria after the expiration of the deadline for the payment of their school fees and allowances for accommodation.
The Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency said in a statement by its Manager, Media and Communications, Mr. Kingsley Uranta on Thursday that the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, had released some funds to pay the amount owed by the students.
“The Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, recently released some funds to pay tuition fees, upkeep and accommodation allowances for some of our students and their universities.
“However, for the UK in particular, the deadline for the payment elapsed before the fees could get to them. As a result, the registration of 19 students for 2015/16 in the universities of Huddersfield (11), Brighton (3) and Nottingham Trent (5) have been deferred to 2016,” the RSSDA said in the statement.
The agency explained that the affected students, who were on their way from the UK at the time of issuing the statement, had to return to Nigeria in order to avoid being deported. The RSSDA said that it had confirmed from the aforementioned universities that the students could return to the institutions next year.
“Sadly, the 19 students who have now left the UK to avoid infringing on their immigration status and be deported are expected to arrive in Nigeria today, Thursday October 22, 2015. We have confirmed from the universities that the students have the opportunity to return to school next year. We shall update you on any further development on the issue,” the statement read.
Source: The Punch
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