Chronicle Editor
Auxilia Katongomara, Chronicle Reporter
GOVERNMENT has dismissed claims by some students studying in Algeria that it is neglecting them saying they received US$3 000 stipends last year despite host countries providing almost everything for their studies and upkeep.
The students through a handle @ZimbabweanStudentsinAlgeria tweeted that they last received their full annual stipends in 2016 and appealed to President Mnangagwa to intervene.
“We are the community of Zimbabwean students under the Governmental scholarship in Algeria. We are kindly appealing to His Excellency to look into the current status of the students which is dire and dry. We wrote, called and exhausted all channels of communication to no avail,” they wrote.
The students said they were now forced to do menial jobs for survival and are failing to access some medical basics such as reading glasses among others due to lack of funds.
However in an interview yesterday, director for Government Scholarships in the President’s Office, Dr Christopher Mushohwe said all students on Government scholarships are looked after by the host countries and receive annual stipends.
“We paid them money last year in September and in fact for Algeria the stipend that they should get is not more than US$200 because the Government of Algeria pays everything for them but when we inherited the scholarship from Higher Education Ministry, the ministry had already paid a blanket US$3 000 stipend without taking into consideration the cost of living in a particular country,” said Dr Mushohwe.
He said they were supposed to get another US$3 000 this year but the payments were delayed due to relief efforts after Cyclone Idai disaster which he said took precedence over other initiatives.
“They are supposed to get another $3 000 this year but we have found out that we have taken the cost of living for every country to be the same yet some Governments pay for almost everything. For example if you take Russia, the cost of living in Russia is very expensive. So $3 000 is a bit fair for the cost of living there but in Algeria they get almost everything,” said Dr Mushohwe.
He said there were reports that after receiving stipends from Government, most of the students studying in Algeria use the money lavishly; travelling to Europe or South Africa for leisure.
“Stipends are just for little other things because these are bilateral scholarships, the host country pays and we are just supplementing so that they can buy a few items because some students do not want the food which is served and at some campuses they don’t give them food something like that so we pay a stipend and it is some money that they can spend on other things,” said Dr Mushohwe.
“In most countries, fees, accommodation, transport and medicals are paid by the host country. In countries like Cuba, Algeria they pay 99 percent of their requirements but because they are used to being paid US$3 000 the students in Algeria get money and they go to South Africa or fly to Europe for leisure when a country like Zimbabwe is in this economic situation. It is unsustainable and if they are students coming from Zimbabwe understanding their plight they mustn’t do that”.
Dr Mushohwe said Government was already working on paying the students before the country was hit by the Tropical Cyclone Idai disaster.
“Government has made it clear that the Minister of Finance is mobilising resources and we are starting to pay some countries next week so we are going to pay them,” he said.
Dr Mushohwe said Government was going to investigate if the complaints were really coming from students who were on bilateral scholarships.
—@AuxiliaK.
Online Reporter