Gambia does not provide scholarships to students who overstay in Morocco

The Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology of the Government of the Republic of Gambia, Pierre Gomes, disclosed in a parliamentary session last Wednesday that some Gambian students in Morocco have exceeded the legal period for which the scholarships were granted to them and continued to remain in the Kingdom after the expiration of these periods, according to local media in the African country.

The same source said that the Gambian Embassy in Morocco had received complaints from students who accused the government of not disbursing the scholarships allocated to them, to which Gambian government officials responded that “some students arrived in Morocco after the stipulated time, while others started their master’s studies after the expiration of their funding period without written permission from the Ministry of Education.”

The Gambia’s Minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology informed the country’s parliament that “the ministry received a list of 160 students who were actively pursuing bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees last year,” adding: “Last May and June this year, the ministry used the same list to award scholarships to all students.”

He continued, “The Guardian Ministry used this list this year as it began to verify and verify the actual number of students studying in Morocco before awarding these scholarships,” stressing in this regard that “those who decide to continue their studies without the approval of the Ministry of Education are not eligible for any scholarship or grant; because it is not included in the budget.”

The minister called on students in the Kingdom of Morocco who wish to renew their scholarships to inform the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology about their situation, while stressing that “starting this year, we will change the way we work as the ministry identifies scholarship programs in collaboration with the Moroccan authorities,” “according to the needs of the country as some of these programs are offered in The Gambia.”

It is noteworthy that at the beginning of this year, Morocco and The Gambia signed several agreements and memorandums of understanding during the third session of the Mixed Commission for Cooperation between the two countries, held in the city of Dakhla, including framework agreements related to scholarships, training and training, and the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation allocates about ninety scholarships in different majors to Gambian students every year.

It is also noteworthy that the two countries’ higher education ministries signed a memorandum of understanding in the Gambian capital of Banjul earlier this month, aimed at encouraging and facilitating the movement of students and researchers between the two countries, with the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation in the government of Aziz Akhannouch, Abdellatif Mirawi, leading a visit to the country.