Nigerian Students Face Deportation Over Abandonment

Nigerian students in the UK sponsored by the Rivers state government claim that they are facing the possibility of deportation, because the government has failed to pay their tuition fees, CNN reports.

The students who are studying at the University of Huddersfield were sponsored under the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA). They claim that they are facing the possibility of deportation because the government has not paid their fees for two years.

The institution travelled to Nigeria to meet the agency in order to collect the school fees to no avail. The school resolved to suspend their studies and revoke the sponsorship on their visas, giving them 60 days to leave the country.

Read the account of the students below:

“We are 2nd year students with the university of Huddersfield currently hoping to progress to final year by September or going on placement as some of us have chosen. It is with deep shock that we realised that the RSSDA (Rivers state sustainable development Agency) under the rivers state government who is our sponsor have not paid our fees for 2 years. The university have made all efforts to get the money from them but they have since attributed the non-payment to the government of rivers state not releasing funds. The university even went to the extent of travelling to Nigeria for the money.

“We are more than 11 students with the cost of each student fees being 12,500 pounds each. Since all effort have failed to get the money from the agency, the university have come to the resolve of suspending our studies and revoking their sponsorship on our visas, Hence, giving us 60 days to leave the country. They have 10 days to revoke the visa cancellation if the agency gives them a time frame for payment and the 10 days expires this Friday.

“The agency have deliberately refused replying the university on several emails and refused to also commit to them by giving them time frame for payment. Worst of it all is that the agency have not even acknowledge the situation or even comfort us and take responsibility for whatever damage this might incur. They said and I quote “they don’t even have our flight money back.

“We are stranded!!! We have not been paid allowance and rent money for 9 months now which is meant to be 800 pounds a month. Fees owed by the government around England and other part of the world have amounted to about 3 billion naira. We need this video to spread let the whole world see how politics is affecting the future of the country. PLEASE!!!”

Earlier, a beneficiary of the RSSDA wrote to Naij.com lamenting that he and other students studying in Hungary were ignored by the state government and had not received their allowances for a long time.

Source: naij