Nkonkonsa Celebrity Gossip From Africa
Some embattled Ghanaians studying abroad have cried out for help after the national scholarship secretariat failed to pay their school fees and existing arrears after pledging to fund their education at the tertiary level.
Seth Ofori, a final year medical student of Donetsk National Medical University is one of the students on the scholarship programme implemented by the supposed National Scholarship Secretariat told NKONKONSA.com that the secretariat headed by Mr Kingsley Agyemang has turned their back on him and some of his colleagues leaving them to their own fate far away from home.
According to Seth, the National Scholarship Secretariat hasn’t paid his school fees, book allowance and stipends for two academic years including an arrears of stipends and book allowances in the 2020/2021 academic years.
The Medical student revealed that for the 2022/2023 academic year, his school fees is $4,200, Book allowance is $500 and the stipends is $3,600.
He established that Mr Kingsley Agyemang had promised students on the programme their fees and allowances were going to be paid a few months ago when he met them in Hungary coupled with a Zoom meeting with all of them but that has not materialized.
Mr Seth Ofori mentioned that the university has threatened to rule them out of their final year exams should they fail to pay their school fees on time, and face expulsion.
He has therefore cried out to the government and National Scholarship Secretariat to fulfill its promise to them so they can complete their medical studies in Ukraine.
Read his open letter below;
“My name is Seth Ofori. A very venerable, desperate and frustrated Final Year Medical Student in Ukraine – Donetsk National Medical University
My story and reason running to your arms for help to complete my studies has become the only option now since all efforts within my means has proven futile and fallen on deaf ears from those that pledged to help.
As citizen of Ghana and a beneficiary of Ghana Scholarship secretariat, I was fortunate to be selected for this scheme at a time that I was on the verge of ending my medical career prematurely. At the time the scholarship secretariat had decided to support Needy but brilliant students in Ukraine because the Ukrainians Medical Tuition fees was the most affordable in Europe, so I was I was selected.
Everything went well for the first academic year which was 2019/2020 academic year as they paid our fees and stipends in full, though last two months of that academic year. For 2020/2021 ,we were only paid tuition and promised to be paid the stipends along the line. That 2020/2021 academic year ended without the payments of stipends and book allowances after several meetings, emails etc with the Registrar(Hon Kingsley Agyeman) and the Coordinator for Schengen countries (Hon Joseph Osei Djaba). We were later assured that were going to add it to the next academic year payments, that 2021/2022 academic year.
The 2021/2022 academic started in September, and we held meetings in relation to payments of fees. The first semester ended in January and we were still not paid. We started the second semester and in later part of January and meeting were still held and assured of payments but still nothing happened. In February, we had a meeting with the Registrar and he assured us that we will be paid in 2days after the meeting, since monies have been dispatched for that purpose to the embassy. Unfortunately later part of February, the Ukrainian war started. We had meetings even afterwards for payments after several assurances but still nothing.
Some of us couldn’t return to Ghana to benefits from the Ghana Government medical students integration program because they told us that, there wasn’t vacancies for clinical students, that is especially those of us in level 500 and 600, which means, if we should come to Ghana, we were to go back to start from level 300 (Losing 2yrs), hence we decided to stay to complete because, though the secretariat also promised of taking those who couldn’t get the chance in the Ghana Government initiative, to Georgia and Barbados, which were widely published even in the media but NEVER happened.
The sad and unfortunately situation for people like me is that, I’m in my final year almost done, *but facing expulsion and repeat of extra years if I fail the deadlines for payment of fees, meanwhile other colleagues who have similar situation like mine have been sorted out quietly because they have families and ministers in government and they have been paid everything but some of us are suffering because we don’t have anyone or politicians to speak to us.
All authorities responsible for us, have refused to even talk to us, listen to us or even reply our messages or email, not even calls.
Are some Ghanaians better than others. Who watches over the watchman’s families that are handicapped like me. Please come to my aid.
My humble plea🙏🏼
All evidences of payments and certification have been provided to them, even just last month but still nothing has been done”
Source:NKONKONSA.com
