By: Dawda Baldeh
The Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science & Technology (MoHERST) has denied the allegations made by Gambian students in Morocco about the delay in receiving their stipend. The ministry has called these claims “misleading and malicious”.
On Friday, August 4th, The Fatu Network published a story about the Gambian Students Association in Morocco (GASAM). According to GASAM, the students have not received their annual stipend from the Gambian government for an entire academic year.
However, Gambia’s higher education ministry has today, August 5th said in a statement that those claims are misleading and laced with malice.
The ministry’s reactions came barely 24hrs after The Fatu Network published the story where most students said they are worried as a result of not receiving their stipends.
“We wish to inform the public that the information trending is misleading and laced with malice,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry further claimed to discover that some students would complete their undergraduate programs and continue to pursue advanced studies in the same programs without clearance from the ministry.
“It has also come to light that some students could not finish their programs during the prescribed time frame.
“At the same time, they continue to benefit from stipend payments in their fifth and sixth years of studies in programs they are supposed to complete in four years. These facts must be established,” the ministry stated.
Accordingly, the Ministry said they have fielded a headcount mission involving two officers (one from the scholarship unit and one from the internal audit).
“This team has had meetings with the Gambian Embassy, the Executive of the Students Association, and the body responsible for awarding scholarships (AMCI) in Rabat, the Kingdom of Morocco.
“During these meetings, the position of the Ministry has been reiterated, and the students in the Kingdom of Morocco are aware of the position that only students under the Ministry’s sponsorship will be paid.
“The Accountant General’s Department was advised to make the necessary payments to the Gambian Embassy in Rabat, and it has been reported that the funds will reach the Embassy early next week to facilitate payment of stipends to all deserving MoHERST students,” the statement added.
They advised the students to exercise patience and assured them that “we share their predicament.”
However, the ministry noted that they must address these issues for the national interest to avoid audit inconveniences in the future.
