179 students have become beneficiaries of the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship in Russia for the 2023/2024 academic session, News About Nigeria reports.
The awarded students are scheduled to leave Nigeria for Russia on Wednesday, 15th November 2023.
The Minister of Education, Prof Tahir Mamman, disclosed this at the Pre-departure briefing of Bilateral Education Agreement Scholars to Russia in Abuja on Tuesday.
He noted that the first batch of the scholarship awardees was already preparing for departure, while the second and third batches would depart on November 15 and November 17, respectively.
The Minister maintained that awarding scholarships to the students was part of a bigger plan to intensify President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Agenda of a Renewed Hope, which also entails providing support to Nigerians with access to sharpen their skills, knowledge competence, which will, in turn, aid Nigeria’s development agenda in the long run.
According to him, it was an investment by the Federal Government, noting that the returns of investment were required upon their return to the country.
He, therefore, urged the students to abide by the laws of the Russian government and always be on the lookout for each other.
He charged them to make their presence known to the Nigerian Embassy in Moscow. This, he said, was necessary based on the country’s experiences in Ukraine.
Speaking also, the Director, Federal Scholarship Board, Asta Ndajiwo, revealed that the journey to awarding scholarships commenced in November 2022 after reviewing thousands of applications from which the awardees were picked.
She applauded the Federal Government for its efforts in ensuring that the scholars were comfortable, including the payment of their allowances from September to December.
In the same vein, she urged the scholars to avoid extracurricular activities that could pose a threat to their lives.
Drawing inference from the incident where the lives of two students were lost in Russia after they had gone for a swim and drowned, she charged the awardees to stay away from water areas if they were not good swimmers.
