Stranded Scholars: Doctoral Candidate Accuses TETFund Officials of Siphoning His N10m Fees

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

A doctoral candidate currently on TETFund scholarship at the Girne American University Cyprus, Kamal Saka-Odunjo, has alleged that about 600 Nigerian foreign scholars have been stranded abroad owing to TETFund’s alleged omission of their names in the recent disbursement of the presidential bailout funds provided by President Bola Tinubu to save the scholars from losing their studentship in various foreign universities.

THISDAY gathered that over 600 scholars are currently stranded and unable to pay their fees because of the high dollar rate to naira due to the COVID-19 lockdown and rise in exchange rate, which had devalued the Nigerian currency.

Blaming TETFund for the continued suffering of the scholars abroad, Sala-Odunjo, said, “I started my study in 2021, and the programme is to last for eight academic semesters, making four years duration. At the time my sponsorship award was granted, the naira exchange rate was at N131 to a US dollar in 2021. But as I speak today, everybody knows that the current exchange rate is over N1,500 to a US dollar. This condition has made the cost of living so difficult and almost unbearable for all TETFund foreign scholars experiencing the same situation.”

He alleged that it was based on this financial hardship the foreign scholars were prompted to seek financial support in terms of a bailout from the president, which was graciously approved for all categories of TETFund foreign scholars who embarked on their foreign studies between 2020 and 2023 as they are all victims of this disturbing financial hardship.

“However, it was a rude shock to a large number of scholars as TETFund came up with some ridiculous criteria for selecting who is qualified for the payment in which a greater number of scholars, almost 600, were deliberately omitted by describing them not eligible for the payment based of parochial condition adopted to willfully exclude our colleagues,” Saka-Odunjo claimed.

He added, “My PhD sponsorship award grant was approved on 11/11, 2020. My study was scheduled to start in January 2021. But, due to two reasons, I could not leave Nigeria until October 2021. The first reason was TETFund’s delay in the payment of the initial tuition deposit, having been mandated by my university in Cyprus as a condition for issuing the acceptance letter that would allow me to travel down to Cyprus. Though after several correspondence and explanations, the initial tuition deposit of a total sum of Euro 3,622.50 was paid out of Euro 8,872.50 approved for my tuition in the award letter, with a promise that the remaining tuition balance of 5,250 euros would be offset when I get to Cyprus.”

That did not happen, said Saka-Odunjo.

He said, “To cut a long story short. While all these were going on, my student portal was closed by the university, and two warning letters were sent to me by my university in Cyprus for possible deportation due to the continued accumulation of outstanding. I was compelled to borrow money to save my studentship after two semesters of zero academic records due to TETFund’s failure to offset the outstanding tuition.

In December 2022, Saka-Odunjo came back to Nigeria to formally inform “my university back home of my ugly experience with TETFund.”

After hearing “my story,” the university management wrote two letters: one to his university in Cyprus not to terminate my studentship, stating that the process for offsetting the outstanding tuition was ongoing, and another to TETFund to fast-track the payment procedure as further delay may hinder my study.

“Sadly. I am going into the 7th semester of the PhD programme. But as I speak, just a single kobo has not been paid out of the remaining outstanding tuition of the total sum of 5,250 euros, which is an equivalent of over 10 million naira at the current exchange rate,” said Saka-Odunjo.

“On getting to Nigeria, I formally wrote my university, stating that TETFund has decided to abruptly stop my programme due to failure to offset my tuition balance,” he stated. “On receiving my letter, the university management invited me to the management meeting to come and defend my complaint. At the university management meeting, with the VC, DVC Admin, DVC Academics, registrar, bursar, librarian and director of Physical Planning in attendance, I presented my case with convincing evidence, and the management unanimously agreed that such delay in tuition payment is injurious to my study.”

When contacted, the National President of the Academic Staff of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, first requested to be properly briefed on the matter and be presented with a list and evidence of the scholars’ claims. He declined to speak with journalists after several attempts.
All efforts to reach the Director of Public Affairs, TETFund, Abdulmumin Oniyangi, were unsuccessful.