Mpumalanga education says it sent R28m to Dirco to finance South African students in Russia

The Mpumalanga department of education says it has transferred R28m to the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) to cover overdue tuition and accommodation fees for students studying at institutions in Russia.

Mpumalanga education MEC Bonakele Majuba said on Tuesday: “The department was able to transfer money to Dirco to enable them to disburse it to the universities in Russia. Dirco is engaging all the relevant role players and universities to ensure the task is executed timeously and to the best interest of all the students.”

Majuba said there are 229 students furthering their studies at 11 universities in Russia in the faculties of general medicine, engineering, aviation and IT.

SowetanLIVE's sister publication TimesLIVE reported that students from Mpumalanga studying at various institutions in Russia were facing expulsion and eviction as stipends, accommodation and tuition fees were allegedly not paid timeously by the department.

The department cited the termination of its contract with an implementation agent for the payment delays.

Majuba said he has requested the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to assist in investigating the matter, looking at the entirety of the programme, and to provide a clear preliminary report by the end of November.

He admitted the absence of a facilitation agent caused unnecessary delays in processing stipends, fees for tuition, accommodation, visas, transport and medical insurance for students.

According to Majuba, the department has been able to process stipends for all the students, except for six who are experiencing challenges with their bank accounts.

“The department depends on the co-operation of the six outstanding students. As soon as they provide us with the required information, their stipends will be processed accordingly,” he said.

He said the department was able to use the services of contracted travel agencies to transport the students, who were on a three-week recess in Mpumalanga, back to Russia.

Majuba said two officials had travelled to Russia at the weekend to ensure a speedy resolution to the difficulties experienced by students, working with the South African embassy.

“They met with the embassy on Monday and the meetings are ongoing. We are hopeful they will be able to unlock all the remaining bottlenecks.”

Earlier this month, a civil society movement, We Are South Africans, threatened legal action against the department as students feared expulsion from the institutions and eviction from their living quarters due to the non-payment.

Head of department Lucy Moyane said the department had no information about students being suspended from their studies: “We don’t have a report either here or with the team in Russia of students who have been suspended.” 

TimesLIVE