The Mpumalanga Department of Education has responded to claims that students it sponsors to study in Russia were left stranded after they were evicted for non-payment of fees, saying the challenges were a result of the conflict in Ukraine.
A group calling itself “We Are South Africans” has publicly stated that South African students had been evicted in Russia and left on the streets with no food “due to the bungling of the Mpumalanga Education Department”.
We Are South Africans claimed that other students were still at home in South Africa and “cannot continue their online studies due to their tuition fees not being paid”.
Responding to the criticism on Friday (7 October 2022), the Mpumalanga Department of Education confirmed that 229 SA students were studying medicine, veterinary science, engineering, aeronautical science, cyber security, and IT in Russia.
At least 67 of these students were expected to complete their studies in June 2023.
All the students are fully funded by the Mpumalanga Department of Education as part of the Provincial Human Resource Development Strategy.
However, the group We Are South Africans said several students were kicked out of hostels and Russian landlords have not been paid for months resulting in the students being evicted and/or threatened to be evicted.
“Children have not got food because of late payments to their stipends and this is drastically affecting their studies and their abilities to fulfill their end of the contractual agreement with the ever-looming threat of cancellation and the destruction of their future,” lamented the group.
We Are South Africans said this was an “extreme dereliction of duties and total disregard for our youth stranded in foreign countries by the maladministration of the Mpumalanga Department of Education”.
Stung by the criticism the department explained how it was “in advanced discussions with the South African Embassy in Russia and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation in an effort to accelerate the payment of Tuition and accommodation for the students”.
The department said it has since increased the stipend from R4 000 to R5 000 per student per month to mitigate the challenges that the students are experiencing as a result of the conflict involving Russia and Ukraine.
“As of now, the department does not have information of students whose academic contracts have been terminated as well as students who were evicted from their respective places of accommodation,” said the department,
The department added: “During all this, the department has been able to process the monthly stipend for all students, except for 15 whose banking details were not fully operational.
“Other options are currently being explored to resolve the matter”.
The department said it was able to bring back 56 students for recess for three weeks in August this year and they were assisted to return to Russia.
“There are 68 students who have already graduated this year and were brought back to the country in September 2022,” said the department.
Another challenge the department mentioned was that In the past, the placement of the students to various institutions was facilitated by a contracted implementation agent, Green Tutu trading as RACUS, whose contract has since expired as of March 2022.
We Are South Africans had criticised the department for cancelling the contract with Racus with no alternative.
The group said the department cancelled the contract because it was deemed as expensive.
We Are South Africans said after the contract was cancelled the department “started placing demands on students to open certain bank accounts, getting invoices from universities, all the documents which we have seen and have at the media’s disposal”.
The department, however, said that after the contract expired, it advertised a tender in October 2021 to solicit an implementing agent.
The department said it did not receive any responses and accordingly, it was re-advertised this month of October 2022.
