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The Government of Sierra Leone has established specific guidelines and requirements for Sierra Leonean scholarship students studying in Russia to receive their stipends for the 2023-2024 academic year.
In a press release, the government urged students to be patient as the mission in Turkey works to transfer funds to Moscow. Once the funds are confirmed, they will be disbursed to the students.
To ensure that the stipends are distributed appropriately, the government has outlined certain criteria that students must meet:
Current Passport: Students must provide a valid Sierra Leonean passport with an up-to-date Russian visa.
Academic Progress Report: An updated academic progress report is required.
University ID Card: The student’s university identification card must be submitted.
Dean’s Contact Information: The name and contact number of the Dean of Foreign Students at the university must be provided.
The government has assured students that the mission is working diligently to transfer the funds to Moscow and aims to disburse the stipends by Friday, August 23, 2024.
The government said it will only recognize the university that students were initially offered to study in upon their departure from Sierra Leone. However, students who have officially notified the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education and the Embassy in Moscow about any changes to their university of study will be exempted from this requirement.
The government explained that the requested information will be used to compile comprehensive progress reports for the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education, which will aid in facilitating and supporting payments for the next academic year’s stipends.
Aside from providing academic progress report, the rest of the criteria are absurdly ridiculous. Truth is, the SLG has never met her obligation of providing timely stipends (a requirement of the scholarship agreement) to students on foreign scholarships in Eastern countries (China, Russia, Hungary, Poland, etc.). Fortunately, students on scholarships in western countries (U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia, etc.) receive stipends/allowances from the host countries.
While I understand the need for rules, is the broke illegitimate government trying to leave students stranded in Russia? Have they lost their minds? What difference does it make if someone switched universities, if they are still enrolled in college? Somebody let the government know that all those private jet trips by the Bios are expensive and if he and his wife take one less trips, that pays stipends. Fatima is travelling the world this year more than our actual diplomats and she isn’t flying commercial, but the illegitimate goverment is trying to leave students stranded in Russia. How are they supposed to eat, survive?