Government distances itself from scholarships holders in Sudan
(2012-05-29) The Ministry of Education on Friday distanced itself from a group of 45 Mozambican students in Sudan who are complaining of poor living and studying conditions, reports Saturday’s issue of the daily paper “Noticias”.
The government explains in statement issued by the Education Ministry’s Scholarship Institute (IBE) that it is not responsible for the students currently in Sudan, since they went there to pursue religious studies with scholarships granted by Islamic organizations.
According to the document, at no time the Ministry was involved and much less advised about these scholarships.
The IBE further explains that even during his recent speech delivered in Parliament, the Education Minister Zeferino Martins only mentioned about a possible return of scholarship holders from Algeria and never from Sudan.
This was the Government’s reaction to criticism made by the students themselves and civil society organisations, claiming that they lost their rights to scholarships and would be repatriated, since the Education Ministry was refusing to admit its responsibilities.
The IBE, however, refutes these accusations and stresses that “the group has ties with Islamic religious organizations and were not forced by the Government to study in Sudan."
"The students in Sudan are not part of the contingent of Mozambicans scholarship holders under the responsibility of the Government", states the document.
The IBE explains that it received a letter from a Mozambican student in Sudan asking for financial support for himself and his colleagues to continue their studies.
The Ministry, however, was unaware of the presence of this group in Sudan, and immediately asked them to list their concerns and the names of the students under this situation, as well the full details of those responsible for sending the group to Sudan to establish direct contact.
"This is how the MINED managed to contact the representative of an Islamic organization responsible for the recruitment of Mozambican students to Sudan. We are talking about a certain Mr. Tayob who came forward to provide further details. The program in question dates back to the 80's when the first group of young Mozambicans received scholarships for religious studies granted by the Islamic African Institute based in Khartoum, and funded by the Africa Muslim Agency, with support from Arab countries”.
At the time, these group enjoyed better living conditions and study, and were even entitled spend their holidays in Mozambique every two years and benefiting from a monthly allowance of 25 Sudanese pounds, among other perks. >From 1999, after the Gulf War, support for religious scholars suffered a number of setbacks when the Arab countries decided to withdraw their support for the Sudanese Government, "explains IBE.
Currently, there are 45 Mozambican students in Sudan and not all will scholarships granted by Islamic organizations, since others went there by their own means, adds the document.
(Source: AIM)
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