The Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) has debunked allegations by the Peoples Democratic Party in the state that it plans to recall students sponsored on overseas scholarships by the agency.
In a swift response to the allegation yesterday, the agency’s Manager, Media and Communications, Kingsley Uranta, said in a statement, that the party’s claims were false, unfounded and a calculated attempt to mislead Rivers people.
The statement reads: Our attention has been drawn to the news making the rounds that RSSDA “has given a marching order to students of the state origin to return home when they are yet to start their medical programme (MBBS) for which scholarship was offered, and stoppage of payment of their upkeep with effect from August, 2014’’
According Uranta, “This statement is not true. As an agency responsible for the development of qualified manpower for the state, it will be counter-intuitive for us to force our students to return home before the completion of their studies. That will negate the objective of the scholarship scheme in the first place.
Rather, the RSSDA was recently approached by parents of a group of 17 scholars who were among a number of applicants awarded scholarship by the agency to study for first degree in medicine or medically-related courses in 2010.
“Unfortunately, they could not gain admission for medicine after their pre-degree (foundation) programme, and therefore settled for medically-related courses such as Pharmacy, Bio-Medical Sciences and Physiotherapy. The scholars, who have now graduated in these fields with their allowances fully paid to the end of their studies in July, 2014, have turned around to demand for fresh sponsorship from the Agency to study medicine.
“These medically-related disciplines from which the scholars have qualified are also needed in the healthcare delivery system in the state. Besides, it would only be fair that having benefitted from the State sponsorship for their first degrees, other deserving candidates are given similar opportunity. We have already communicated this position to the scholars and their parents on several occasions.
“Since the inception of the Governor’s Special Overseas Scholarship Scheme, we have placed about 2,000 deserving young Rivers State men and women in top ranking Universities across the world. By the end of September, 2014, nearly 1,000 of them would have fully completed their studies, majority of them with flying colours. The remaining are still in the programme and continue to enjoy the full sponsorship of the Rivers State Government”.
It would be recalled that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rivers State Chapter had in a Press Statement titled: “Rivers PDP Raises Alarm Over Plans To Recall Overseas Scholarship Students”, accused the Governor Chibuike Amaechi-led administration of not keeping its promises to Rivers people.
The party had made the declaration while reacting to the alleged “cries and lamentation of students of the state origin sent to the United Kingdom to study medicine by the state government through the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA) since 2010, who have just been given a marching order by the agency to come home when they are yet to start their medical programme (MBBS) for which scholarship was offered.
“Faulting the move by the RSSDA to force them back home and the stoppage of payment of their upkeep and accommodation allowances with effect from August, 2014, the PDP in a statement signed by Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to the state Chairman, Prince Felix Obuah said that is not only deceitful and a breach of contract but also a fraud, as millions of Naira had been voted for the programme.”
The party also challenged “both the RSSDA and Governor Amaechi to take into cognizance the far reaching implications of forcing these students to return home without clearing their indebtedness to the UK institutions, a criminal case which can make them (the institutions) to blacklist the students and denying them the possibility of travelling abroad for further studies or any other business in future.
Source: The TidesNewspaper
