NUGS Russia to picket Ghana Mission over stipends

The Russia chapter of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has threatened to picket Ghana’s Mission in Moscow, if the Scholarship Secretariat, the Head of Mission; Ghana Embassy Moscow, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Chief of Staff do not see to the immediate release of the stipends of continuing students in Russia.

NUGS said the over 200 scholarship students have been in a “terrible situation” because they have not received their stipends in nine months.

According to them, numerous contacts and letters to the appropriate bodies have yielded no results.

In a statement, the student body said “Majority of us have resorted to borrowing with our passports as collaterals whilst others have already been kicked out of their hostels due to their inability to pay hostel fees and acquire their medical insurances.

“Note must be taken that unlike other European countries, Russian laws do not allow students to work and it's therefore illegal to engage in work of any form.”

The students said they will need to cover fresh bills ranging from medical insurances, hostel fees, renewal of visas to other outstanding debts since school reopens on 1 September 2017. “Without our stipends, we are likely to forfeit the next academic year,” the statement said.

NUGS described as “sad” that after eight months of “struggle on this matter,” government only sent money to cover payments of the final year students leaving the continuing students still stranded.

“We the scholarship students in Russia numbering 200 call for the immediate release of our stipends and are hopeful that the amounts would cover all outstanding debts of the three quarters,” the statement said adding, “We intend to picket at the Ghana Missions, Moscow, in the coming days until our stipends are released.”