When the Rotimi Amaechi-led administration introduced an overseas scholarship programme for students in the state, many hailed the decision, which was believed would facilitate a cross fertilisation of ideas, knowledge and best practices, as the beneficiaries would return home with fresh insights that would also contribute immensely to the development of their state.

Even though the scheme was also plagued by logistics lapses, which sometime threaten to mar the entire exercise, it managed to trudge on amid complaints.

However, its suspension by the incumbent administration led by Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, owing to the dire financial straits, which the state is in, has left many of the beneficiaries in foreign universities and their parents/guardians flustered.

In fact, while the government in tinkering with how to bring back home the beneficiaries to complete their studies locally, some parents and guardians whose children and wards are midstream, are of the view that the suspension was not done in good fate just as they are querying how their children/wards would re-adjust to the country’s curriculum or start all over again.

They are also bothered by the fact that some of the courses studied by the beneficiaries abroad were not offered in the University of Port Harcourt and the Rivers State University of Technology, where the are on the verge of being relocated to.

The state Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Onimim Jack, had recently told parents of the beneficiaries in Port Harcourt that the current economic situation had made it impossible for the sustenance of the overseas scholarship scheme, adding that the government was making arrangements to see how the students would continue their studies in state-owned universities.

She added that the government could only pay the tuition for those in their final year, while those in other levels (who would still enjoy full scholarship), would be transferred to either the University of Port Harcourt or the Rivers State University of Science and Technology.

For a relative of one of the beneficiaries, Mr. Tony Udoh, since government is a continuous process, the Wike-led administration should strive to ensure that those that are currently enjoying the scholarship are seen to the end of their programmes, as bringing them back to state-owned universities would drastically affect their studies as well as their emotion.

He said, “If you bring them back, the beneficiaries would suffer psychological, emotional and social trauma. Even if the programme should be discontinued due to paucity of funds, government should allow those already in school to finish their education.”

While a civil servant with the state Ministry of Education, who pleaded anonymity, is of the opinion that evacuating the beneficiaries from their schools abroad abruptly was an insult to the state and the nation at large, another resident of the state, Mr. Michael Ndukwe, said the scheme was fraud-laden hence the need to abolish it.

Mother of a beneficiary of the scheme and third-year medical student, Mrs. Mercy Ekpele, on her part described the decision as too hard for them and their children to bear.

According to her, “The children do not have any helper overseas and no assistance. Children should not be made to suffer for what they do not know, whether this present administration have problems with the out-gone administration or not, we should not allow it to affect innocent children.

“The fraud that the present government is alleging is in the system and not connected with the children. We appeal to the governor to be a father to them all and see them through to their final year. The governor is a father, so we expect him to look at the situation as a father and not as a politician. We hope he should consider rescinding this decision because the negative impact will outweigh the current plan.”

“For almost one year now, the state government has stopped paying the students their allowance. And we have been taking responsibility for that. We don’t mind continuing, but the government should just pay the school fees. It is a very bad decision to withdraw all the students and place them in schools in Port Harcourt. The governor should have a rethink,” said a parent who craved anonymity.

Mrs. Franka Ukah is in sync with this suggestion stressing that instead of evacuating the students, the state government should enter into partnership with their parents and guardians and work things out. This could see the state government paying only the tuition, while the parents take care of feeding and accommodation of their children.

One of the affected students, Miss Chika Didiah, told The Guardian that she regretted the entire scenario that is playing out and her decision to even accept the scholarship.

She disclosed that since they (beneficiaries) returned to the country two months ago, she has been at a loss as to how and where to start from having been abandoned by the government. She regretted that her schoolmates in RUST, from where she left for the overseas scholarship have all graduated.

Reacting to the development, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said, it was disappointed and shocked over the governor’s decision to terminate the overseas scholarship scheme established by his predecessor.

A statement signed by its spokesperson, Chris Finebone, said that by this singular action, the Wike-led government has announced to the world that it does not have the requisite capacity to govern.

The statement read in part. “It is even more shocking that despite the serial borrowing embarked upon by Gov. Nyesom Wike since May 29, federal allocations and internally generated revenue totaling over N130bn in the past seven months, he cannot invest not more than N3bn to keep our children, wards, brothers, sisters and relations in schools overseas.

“The APC is inclined to believe strong speculations in the air that this very wicked action by the governor is aimed at indirectly punishing a handful of parents and guardians who may have relationships with some of the students. This is how low the mission of vengeance by the Wike-led government can get .

“We feel very worried that innocent young sons and daughters of our dear state are being made to live with injured psyche all their lives because a vengeful governor is on rampage looking for pound of flesh to exact.

“Indeed, not one of these children will ever overcome the pains and anguish this truncation of their ambition will bring to them for the rest of their lives on earth. Sadly, this governor does not get it,” the statement continued, adding, “The APC is consulting widely with parents, guardians and leaders of thought of Rivers State and will make a comprehensive response to this decision aimed at killing the future of a generation of Rivers youths.

“The APC wishes to announce to traumatised parents and guardians that whereas Wike is demonstrating that he has the power to truncate the future of our children’s education by terminating their scholarships and bringing them home in the most humiliating manner, those children will return to their schools as soon as the rightful governor assumes office in Rivers State, God willing.”

Governor Wike had in June last year vowed that he would review the scheme in order to sanitise and purge it of alleged deep-seated corrupt practices.

On that occasion, he had claimed that a report by his transition committee stated that the past administration sidelined the state scholarship board and appropriated its powers to award scholarships to the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), which resorted to the use of consultants to source for overseas scholarship for beneficiaries of the scheme.