Ghanaian students on government scholarship in Hungary are calling on the government to pay their monthly stipends which they say have been in arrears for the past six months.
At a press conference held on Wednesday, the president of the Ghanaian Students’ Association in Hungary, Gabriel Asante, said the failure of the government to honour its end of the bargain in paying the stipend has resulted in some students being thrown out of their places of abode.
“For the past six months; that is the last quarter of 2021, and the first quarter of 2022, stipends have not been paid to students. This situation has put students in distress. Feeding has become a problem and accommodation, especially for those living in Budapest. It has become a nightmare. This has led to the eviction of some students from their apartments. If this situation is not reversed, very soon some Ghanaians in Hungary will be homeless,” he said.
The Stipendium Hungarian Scholarship is a scholarship programme jointly sponsored by the Ghanaian government and the Hungarian government.
Under the scholarship, Ghanaian students are supported to pursue undergraduate and post-graduate studies on a tuition-free basis courtesy of the Hungarian government.
The government of Ghana’s responsibility as part of the scholarship is to provide monthly stipends to cover for the living expenses of the students.
The allowance ranges between $250 and $500.
But with the amount not being paid, some of the students said they have been forced to find jobs, causing them to skip lectures just to make some money to cater for their living expenses.
According to Gabriel Asante, they are unable to support Ghanaian students who have fled Ukraine into Hungary as a result of the situation in Ukraine.
“The seriousness of this situation has been compounded by the situation in Europe in which most of our brothers and sisters are fleeing to Hungary, and it is our duty to offer help to them, but we are also distressed in our own land, how can we offer help to them?” he quizzed.
He said the students may be forced to picket at Ghana’s consular office in Hungary if their arrears are not paid within the next week.
“We are calling the attention of the government, the scholarship secretariat and all stakeholders involved to as a matter of urgency settle the 6-month arrears for students under the scholarship within the next week ahead… The government must make this a priority, if not, Ghanaian students in Hungary will picket at the consular unit office here in Budapest to register our displeasure,” he warned.