Gov’t Abandons Ghanaian Students To Starve To Death In Hungary

Ghanaian students on scholarship in Hungary have been lamenting the starvation and homelessness staring them in the face due to abandonment by the Akufo-Addo government amidst the brewing unrest in Eastern Europe.

For the past six months, the government has neglected to pay the stranded students their monthly stipend which they depend on for feeding and rent.

This is according to the President of the Ghana Students Association in Hungary, Gabriel Asante.

“…For the past six months that is the last quarter of 2021 (October to December) and the first quarter of 2022 (January to March) stipends have not been paid to students,” Mr. Asante said at a press conference in Budapest on 2nd March 2022.

According to him, this has made many of the Ghanaian students stranded as they face starvation and accommodation challenges.

“Accommodation, especially those living in the capital city, Budapest, has become a nightmare for many of us. Many students cannot pay their rent. They turn to us as students’ leaders to assist them. Those we can, we do our best to support,” he said.

“However, we the leaders are also in distress now. If the situation is not reversed, very soon many Ghanaian students in Hungary will become homeless and sleep on the streets. The severity of the issues is getting out of hand, and we need to come out to speak for ourselves.”

He adds that the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has compounded the difficulties because Ghanaian students in Ukraine have fled to Hungary and now also need help urgently.

“We are by this press conference calling the attention of the government, the Scholarships Secretariat, and all stakeholders that as a matter of urgency, they need to settle the 6 months areas for students under the Stipendium Hungaricum programme. The government must take this as a priority. If not, students will start picketing the office of the consular office in Budapest to register our displeasure and show the difficulties we are going through,” Asante said.

“We are hungry in Hungary. Please save the lives of Ghanaian students in Hungary now!”

The Scholarship is under the Hungarian Stipendium Hungaricum programme with about 150 Ghanaian students currently captured under the scheme.

Under this programme, the Hungarian government pays the tuition fees for students from Ghana at all levels of study comprising Bachelors, Masters and PhDs. Tuition fees have not been a problem for students.

The government of Ghana provides monthly stipend ranging between 250 and 500 US dollars, depending on the level of study and the year the student started his/her studies. Students are also entitled to a yearly book allowance of 350 US dollars.

The convention is that the Scholarship Secretariat which manages the scholarship scheme pays the stipend quarterly. Thus, January to March stipends are paid in March, April to June stipends in June, July to September stipends in September, and October to December stipends in December.