The Government of the Republic of Liberia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, announced a Stem Scholarship for Liberian students wishing to undertake master’s degree studies in the United States of America and Canada.
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. This means that for any Liberian student to qualify for such a master’s program, he/she must have obtained a Bachelor’s degree in the Natural Sciences.
According to the Foreign Ministry, “the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are handling the processes for this scholarship, and the scholarship has been negotiated by a third party named NEKOTECH under a loan scheme” (MFA Press Briefing, 2024). The Liberian Constitution indicates that if any entity in the government would like to contract or secure a loan for Liberia, such loan must first be ratified by the Liberian National Legislature. What are the terms and conditions for the loan to fund this scholarship? Has the National Legislature ratified the loan?
The President of the Republic of Liberia officially launched the scholarship program. After this, debates abound in public that the scholarship program is a “scam.” Was the President made to launch a “Scammed scholarship program”? God forbid. The President launched the scholarship program out of love for building the capacities of Liberia’s future generations. It is, therefore, my hope that the Scholarship program is not a “scam” as is being debated.
From my experience, the Foreign Ministry does not need a third-party company to find scholarships for Liberian students wishing to write their master’s degrees in STEM or any other areas.
The Foreign Ministry gets scholarships from several countries around the world. For instance, the governments of Israel, India, China, Australia, Pakistan, Austria, Morocco, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Italy, the United States, Ghana, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey, Mexico, and several other countries have been offering scholarships to Liberia through the Foreign Ministry.
Simply put, most, if not all, governments in the world have given Liberian scholarships. So, why should the Foreign Ministry get third parties like NEKOTECH involved the front for a government scholarship program that is being considered a “scam”? Traditionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gets scholarships for technical, undergraduate, master’s, and even doctoral degrees in some instances. All that is required is for the Foreign Ministry to express Liberia’s interest in the areas of preference (s) that the country wants its citizens to gain an education in. Interestingly, this is also a “loan scheme” that must be ratified by the National Legislature. Has the National Legislature ratified the Loan of about $ 26 million US?
AS I SEE IT, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can attract thousands of undergraduate, graduate/post-graduate, or tertiary scholarships. The Ministry simply needs to express its interest and lobby with friendly governments. So, why should Liberia vouch for a loan scheme for 250 Liberians to study abroad for master’s degrees in the STEM area?
The government does not need loan (s) and third parties to negotiate scholarships with other governments. In time past, some governments gave about five hundred scholarships annually to graduates of high schools to study from bachelor’s to doctoral degree levels. Thousands of scholarships have come through the Foreign Ministry.
For example, this writer competed for and won the Australian Awards Scholarship. This was how he studied for his second master’s degree (master’s in public policy-MPP) at the Australian National University, where he specialized in Development Policy or Development Economics with distinction in 2014. Why going to school, he was paid $3,000 Australian Dollars monthly ($1,500.00 biweekly) by the Australian Government. This was not a “loan scheme.”
After graduation, you were required to return home and work for your county for at least 3 years before migrating back to Australia if you wanted to. Today, Liberia does not qualify for the Australia Awards Scholarship Program. Why? Because the Government, through the Foreign Ministry, has not requested the Australian Government to renew the program.
Why can’t they? The Ministry simply needs to write a justification for why Liberians need to benefit from such a program again. I am certain that the many graduates from Australian Universities could help the Ministry/Government to prepare the documentation for this process based on request from the Government.
AS I SEE IT, the Government of the Republic must investigate news about the scholarship program being a “scam” to quickly inform the public of the truth because students have already applied and are applying. Many more will apply because they believe in the Government. Immediate steps should/must be taken to arrest this globally embarrassing situation.
Adequate steps must also be taken to tell Liberians the truth. The Government needs to address this embarrassment urgently. Therefore, the Government needs to thoroughly investigate the veracity of this scholarship program to get the facts and share them with the public as soon as possible. This could help restore and increase confidence in all scholarship processes by the government. The government and the people of Liberia are not prepared to believe this information about a “fake scholarship” deal led by the government. It is hoped that the Government will do the right thing.
About the Author: Prof. Tom Kaydor, Jr. holds a PhD from the Department of Government and European Studies, the New University, Slovenia where he researched International Development and Diplomacy (with Security Aspects). His dissertation topic was ‘Reconceptualizing Africa’s Regional Integration for Peace and Sustainable Development.’ He earned a Master of Public Policy (MPP) specialized in Development Policy or Development Economics with Distinction from the Crawford School of Economics and Government (now the Crawford School of Public Policy), Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. He also obtained a Master of Arts (MA) in International Relations (Highest Distinction) and Bachelor of Arts (BA) Magna Cum Laude in Political Science from the University of Liberia where he currently serves as an Assistant Professor at the IBB Graduate School of International Studies. He also holds a Diploma in Leading Economic Growth from the Kennedy Graduate School, Harvard University, USA; and he holds other diplomas and certificates in professional fields from Italy, UK, Pakistan, China and Israel, Prof. Kaydor is equally an Adjunct Professor of Development Studies at the AME University Graduate School. Dr. Kaydor is an evidence-based researcher, a blogger, a columnist, and a published author. One can reach him via (kaydorth@ul.edu.lr or thkaydor@gmail.com).
