Education
Russia Eyes African Students to Boost Influence
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
Early September, while addressing the staff and students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Foreign Affairs Minister, Sergey Lavrov, reiterated Russia’s readiness to cooperate actively in the sustainable economic development and to strengthen efforts at training the needed specialists and professionals for Africa.
After the collapse of the Soviet system in 1991, there were problems to sustain relations with Africa. Then after more than a decade, Russia started to return to Africa. This process has been ongoing for the past 15 years, according the top Russian diplomat.
Lavrov said: “This return is taking the form of resuming a very close political dialogue, which has always been at a strategic and friendly level, as well as resuming people-to-people, cultural, and educational ties: 15,000 Africans are now studying in Russia, and about a third of them receive scholarships provided by the Russian state.”
Indeed, this year has been characterized by frequent interactions between Russian and African Foreign Ministers, plethora of MoUs were signed that set out the broad parameters of cooperation. Russia’s Education Ministry and the Foreign Affairs have raised the quotas for many African countries, the highest given to Ethiopia, South Africa, Angola, Namibia and Mozambique.
According to report posted MFA website in August, for instance, some 1,120 Angolans have enrolled, on Russian scholarships or grants, at various institutes and universities throughout the Russian Federation. Figures for other African countries are available on the official information portal of the ministry.
Besides state-sponsored students, Russia’s Education Ministry has also launched a large-scale educational campaign targeting to recruit private foreign students into its educational institutions across the Russian Federation. The program to be implemented until 2025, which has a launched website (studyinrussia) translated into different languages, seeks to boost the popularity and improve image abroad.
Russia further aims at strengthening next generation of pro-Russian elites who will help promote its interests, including long-term ones in their home countries. With this in mind, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ultimately, hope to improve the efficiency of “soft power” in Africa, though not to the levels during the Soviet era.
Understandably, Russia is now targeting Africa’s fast-growing population as a huge potential market for knowledge transfer and export education. Rossiyskaya Gazeta, a widely circulated Russian daily newspaper, reported that Russia has been refocusing on young population in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, targeting the elite and middle class in these markets for the export of education, which has great potential.
The newspaper reported about advantages of multiculturalism and cross-cultural interactive activities paving the way for intergration in the Russian society. As far back as April 2011, Russia’s Federation Council and State Duma (upper and lower houses of parliament) passed a bill. That bill was finally signed into a law that allows foreign students the right to employment, a replica of work and study modelled program in the western and European countries.
Professor Viktor Sadovnichy, Rector of Moscow State University and Chairman of Russian Rectors’ Association, an organization that unites more than 700 heads of higher education institutions, argued that education and demography are interconnected, developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America have growing middle-class.
“This favours the export of our education, it has a great potential cooperating in education sphere, it could serve as a huge market – training young professionals that are in demand on the labour market,” Sadovnichy said, addressing a plenary meeting of the Russian Rectors’ Association at Peter the Great St Petersburg State Polytechnic University in April 2018.
In an interview with Eurasia Review, Professor Natalia Vlasova, Deputy Rector at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of the Ural State University of Economics (USUE) in Yekaterinburg, explained that many African countries are developing rapidly, the African elites and the growing middle-class are great potentials for sponsoring their children’s education abroad.
“In times of Soviet Union, African countries were strategic partners, and now we should reactivate these relations because in the nearest future they will have big economic and political power. This could, indeed, be a huge market and has potential for business,” she noted assertively.
In addition, Vadim Trofimovich Kirsanov, African Affairs Advisor at the Regional Projects Department, Russkiy Mir Foundation, in an interview discussion with Eurasia Review also explained the absolute necessity to develop bilateral ties not only in economic sphere but also in education and culture, promote exchange of people and ideas in the social sphere. Russkiy Mir Foundation is non-profit Russian NGO created primarily to promote Russian language, image and culture abroad.
“We must use the full potential interest in Russian culture, Russian language, mutual sympathy and interest between the peoples of Russia and Africa, a great desire of Russians and Africans to visit each other to make friends, establish new connections. It will be of high interest to African countries, which they have passionately appreciated, when Russian authorities create this social platform towards the development of Russian-African relations,” according to the Advisor at Russkiy Mir Foundation.
An educational survey released in September 2019, divided into five major groups, said Russia has made little efforts at improving teaching (the learning environment), research, citations (research influence), knowledge transfer, and international outlook (staff, students, research) in the educational field, according to the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings. By Kester Kenn Klomegah
By Adedapo Adesanya
No fewer than 34 tertiary institutions are under investigation by the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) over allegations that they withheld refunds from students after receiving duplicate tuition payments under the federal government’s student loan programme.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Sunday, the Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, explained that the agency acted after receiving numerous complaints and petitions from affected students.
According to him, the investigations are being carried out in collaboration with anti-corruption agencies, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), internal auditors and other stakeholders to determine the extent of the alleged infractions and ensure students receive the refunds due to them.
“I can tell you that there are about 34 institutions that we are looking at at the moment because of the number of petitions we’ve received,” Mr Sawyerr said.
He explained that the issue arose because President Bola Tinubu directed the immediate rollout of the student loan scheme in the middle of an academic session rather than waiting for a new academic year.
As a result, many students had already paid their tuition before NELFUND later settled the same fees directly with their institutions, leading to double payments.
“What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment—some from the students and some from us. The institutions that received the duplicate payments are responsible for refunding the students,” he said.
Mr Sawyerr noted that many beneficiaries urgently need the refunds because they borrowed money from parents, relatives or other sources to pay their fees before accessing the loan scheme.
While commending some institutions for promptly refunding affected students, he said others had delayed the process, although NELFUND was still investigating whether the delays were deliberate or caused by administrative shortcomings.
Mr Sawyerr said the agency is developing a token-based payment system that will allow students to authorise tuition payments directly at their institutions using their mobile phones as a way of blocking any reoccurrence.
He also explained that NELFUND deliberately pays tuition fees directly to schools instead of students to prevent the diversion of education funds for other purposes.
The NELFUND boss also admitted that the agency lacks the legal authority to compel institutions to make refunds or prosecute offenders, noting that many frustrated students have also submitted petitions to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He added that NELFUND recently deployed a multi-agency team, including officials from the EFCC, ICPC, NANS and the agency’s internal auditors, to investigate one of the institutions accused of withholding refunds.
Mr Sawyerr also revealed that NELFUND has refused to approve excessive tuition increases by some institutions, insisting that the agency would not fund unjustified fee hikes while continuing efforts to improve transparency in the student loan programme.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Teachers in Oyo State have been directed to resume work from Thursday, July 2, 2026, by the state’s chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).
Public school teachers earlier withdrew their services in the state following the abduction of their colleagues and pupils in the Oriire local government area of Oyo State by some terrorists almost two months ago.
In a statement on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, signed by the union’s scribe in Oyo State, Mr Olukayode Salami, it was disclosed that the industrial action by the teachers was suspended after “renewed engagements with the state government and assurances over measures to improve security after the abduction of teachers and learners in Oriire Local Government Area.”
In the statement also signed by its Oyo State Chairman, Mr Hassan Ajibola Fatai, the group announced that the suspension followed a directive from its national leadership after reviewing the prevailing security situation and considering appeals by the Oyo State Government and other key stakeholders.
It directed all public primary and secondary school teachers across the state to resume official duties from Thursday, July 2, 2026, bringing an end to the industrial action that was declared in response to the kidnapping of teachers and students in Oriire Local Government Area.
According to the statement, the decision was taken in the collective interest of teachers, learners and the general public after the government assured the union that sustained efforts were underway to secure the safe release of the abducted victims and strengthen security around schools and surrounding communities.
The association further disclosed that the government had made several commitments aimed at preventing future attacks, including intensified rescue efforts for the abducted teachers and learners, the establishment of a well-equipped Joint Security Task Force to patrol vulnerable schools and access routes, continuous engagement with affected families, psychosocial support and rehabilitation for rescued victims, and payment of gratuities and other entitlements to the families of deceased teachers.
Other commitments include strengthening the Safe School Initiative through public sensitisation and early warning systems, improving emergency response mechanisms, addressing criminal hideouts, upgrading school infrastructure, tackling illegal mining and open grazing in forest reserves, enhancing community intelligence gathering, ensuring speedy prosecution of criminal suspects, improving the welfare of security personnel, and deploying technology to bolster school security.
Oyo NUT commended its members, as well as the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) and the Association of Primary School Head Teachers of Nigeria (AOPSHON), for their discipline, solidarity and compliance throughout the period of the industrial action, describing their support as instrumental in advancing the welfare and security of teachers and learners.
While directing members to return to the classrooms, the union urged teachers to remain vigilant, obey the law and promptly report any security threats within their schools and communities to the appropriate authorities.
The NUT reaffirmed its commitment to protecting the welfare and security of teachers, stressing that it would continue engaging the government until all outstanding concerns regarding the safety of teachers and students are fully addressed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigerian food and beverage company, Rite Foods Limited, has partnered with the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to reward seven exceptional Nigerian undergraduates with a total of N35 million in recognition of their outstanding academic performance during the 2025 admission exercise.
The seven beneficiaries, who emerged through a transparent and merit-based selection process coordinated by JAMB, will each receive N5 million at the maiden edition of the Academic Excellence Recognition Award Ceremony, scheduled to hold on Tuesday, June 30, in Lagos.
Announcing the initiative, JAMB’s Public Communication Adviser, Mr Fabian Benjamin, said the award celebrates students who distinguished themselves through exceptional performance in both the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and their respective Post-UTME or institutional screening exercises.
“The seven beneficiaries will each receive N5 million in recognition of their exceptional academic performance. This partnership with Rite Foods reflects our shared commitment to rewarding merit, promoting academic excellence, and inspiring young Nigerians to pursue excellence in their educational journey,” Mr Benjamin said.
Speaking on the partnership, the Head of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Rite Foods Limited, Mr Ekuma Eze, said the company remains committed to investing in initiatives that recognise excellence and empower the next generation of leaders.
“At Rite Foods, we believe excellence should be celebrated and encouraged. Through this partnership with JAMB, we are proud to reward these exceptional students and reinforce the message that hard work, discipline, and excellence will always be recognised. Beyond producing quality brands, we are committed to creating opportunities that inspire young Nigerians to achieve their full potential,” he said.
The award recipients represent Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, while the seventh award will be presented to the highest-performing admitted candidate living with a disability, reflecting the initiative’s commitment to merit, inclusion, and national development.
The ceremony is expected to bring together the Minister of Education, the outgoing JAMB Registrar, Professor Is-haq Oloyede, vice-chancellors, heads of regulatory agencies, education stakeholders, corporate leaders, students, and members of the media.
