Shielding Academic Futures From Currency Fluctuations

As globalisation continues to shape the landscape of higher education, academic scholars in Nigeria are increasingly finding themselves navigating the financial complexities of studying abroad.

One of the most pressing issues scholars face is the instability of foreign exchange rates, which can cause significant variations in their educational expenses.

These unpredictable currency fluctuations can pose serious risks to their financial well-being and academic success, thus making it more imperative to explore and implement measures that shield scholars from these economic uncertainties.

To safeguard the living expenses of Nigerian scholars studying abroad against the adverse impacts of foreign exchange fluctuations is the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).

The Fund has rcognised the financial challenges faced by these scholars, particularly due to the volatility in exchange rates, and as such revised its disbursement strategies to ensure stability and continuity in their academic pursuits.

These proactive measures by the Fund underscore its commitment to the welfare of Nigerian scholars abroad, ensuring that financial challenges do not hinder their educational advancements.

By directly addressing the issues caused by exchange rate volatility, TETFund is effectively safeguarding the academic future of its scholars.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Fund has been addressing the plight of Nigerian scholars stranded abroad due to financial difficulties arising from foreign exchange fluctuations.

It would be recalled that TETFund initially disbursed full tuition and living expenses to scholars’ employers, who were then responsible for managing these funds.

However, this process faced issues due to some institutions not adhering to guidelines, particularly regarding maintaining funds in domiciliary accounts.

This led to scholars receiving stipends in local currency, which were adversely impacted by exchange rate volatility.

To mitigate these issues, TETFund has revised its disbursement strategy, directly paying tuition fees to foreign institutions while still sending living expenses to the beneficiary institutions.

It is gathered that from around 2022, TETFund began paying living expenses directly to scholars after their first year to further protect them from exchange rate fluctuations.

Additionally, the fund has signed agreements with some foreign institutions to ensure the welfare of its scholars. In a recent development, the Nigerian government approved a bailout of ₦3.8 billion to support about 1,500 affected scholars.

This intervention aims to cover shortfalls in living expenses caused by the rise in foreign exchange rates and the increased cost of living abroad.

The TETFund has assured that it will reimburse scholars directly and recover the funds from future allocations to the non-compliant institutions

The Executive Secretary of TETfund, Arch. Sonny Echono who spoke on the issue recently when he received the House of Representatives Committee on TETFund and other Services said it has taken care of 1500 scholars with a total of N3.8 billion extended.

“We identify a cut-off point for those who will be eligible for the scholarship.”

On the purported delayed payment of the scholarship, Echono explained that due to forex increase, a lot of scholars from all over the world, UK, Malaysia and other cried out as it were and the petitions went to National Assembly,Villa, Ministry of Education and even to TETFund.

“We were happy that the response was very positive and that was why we were able to secure the President’s approval and do what we called the bail out or assistance. We did observe that part of the challenge.

“In the past, we send money directly to the schools and it is the responsibility of the institutions to now remit to the students. However, for illegitimate and legitimate reasons, many of the institutions came back to us and complain that it takes a whole lot of time to process the transfers to central bank”, he added.