Recall that the Rus sian invasion in Ukraine in February this year forced large number of international students in Ukraine to leave the country as the Ukrainian cities and campuses became targets of bombing and shelling.
Nigerians who are studying in universities in war-torn Ukraine have cried out that the authorities of the universities are forcing them to pay for a new academic session and to return to the cities of the country for resumption of their academic activities amid the ongoing war.
Recall that the Russian invasion in Ukraine in February this year forced large number of international students in Ukraine to leave the country as the Ukrainian cities and campuses became targets of bombing and shelling.
But the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) reports that Nigerians and other international students fleeing the country because of the raging war accused Ukrainian authorities of treating them unfavourably at the borders.
A Twitter user, @ChyLady who is a supporter of African students in Ukraine in a Twitter thread on Sunday, said that international students were being forced to return to the country despite the war.
She wrote, “Nigerian students who fled Ukraine are being discriminated against by their Ukrainian universities. The universities are pressuring the students to return to Ukraine to pay their fees for September without guaranteeing their safety.
“The Ukrainian universities are also threatening to expel the students if they don’t pay their fees but frustrating their requests for transcripts to transfer to other universities.”
She further lamented that the universities told international students to pay full tuition fees when they requested for their transcripts.
“Ukrainian universities are threatening African students who fled Ukraine with cancellation of resident permits if they request for transcripts. The students are also denied transfer opportunities into EU universities for many reasons, including not having transcripts.
“They have asked African students to pay for the next September session and go back into Ukraine to continue their studies while mandating that they must sign a document stating they are going back at their own risk and the Ukrainian university will not be responsible for their safety,” she said.
Meanwhile, Nigerian students who fled to some European countries have been given a short-term visa and encouraged to apply at German universities to continue their studies.
The decision of the Ukrainian universities has hindered the affected students from transferring from one tertiary institution to another.