Foreign students struggling amid scholarship shock

African students at the European University of Lefke in Northern Cyprus have been left stranded following a decision by the university administration to revoke, without prior notice, all scholarships awarded on the basis of meritorious grades. This is one of a ‘host of problems’ that foreign students have raised with the institution.

Undergraduate and associate students who have studied at the university for two semesters and have a Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.50 and a cumulative GPA of 3.00 and above, are rewarded with a scholarship within the framework of the university regulations regarding scholarships. The GPA indicates how well a student did on average in various courses.

However, at the beginning of the 2020 winter-fall semester, the administration introduced a new system in which all scholarships based on excellence were nullified. Students were informed about this only in October.

According to a press statement by the International Students Union (ISU), the move to revoke scholarships by the institution, which has forced many African students to put their studies on hold, was made more than two months ago. However, students could not prepare for these changes as they were notified about them only when universities reopened.

Many guardians of learners studying abroad have been forced to withdraw their financial support citing loss of income due to the coronavirus pandemic. This has left hundreds of foreign students, some of them from poorer countries, struggling to sustain themselves, let alone meet tuition costs.

In the 2018-19 academic year there were about 90,000 international students in Northern Cyprus, including from mainland Turkey. Of this group, 20,000 were from Africa, the majority from Sub-Saharan African countries such as Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Cameroon.

Language barriers

A representative of the student body at the European University of Lefke mentioned that there were “a host of problems” being faced by foreign students.

“There are no official communication channels between the university and international students. We rely on word of mouth because no formal announcements are made to notify students of big changes at the university.”

The student representative also highlighted the lack of transparency in the handling of tuition and financial affairs. Learners were not issued with statements of account and there was no access to online accounts systems to ensure clarity, thereby financially excluding students.

A language barrier that exists between the African students and the university’s international office, student affairs section and accounts departments where the main language is Turkish, has been of major concern to the students. Most of the staff are said to have little command of English.

According to foreign students, the language barrier also extends to some of the lecturers and counselling offices, which has made the learning environment not only difficult for overseas students but impossible for those with mental health issues seeking support from the institution.

Concern over accreditation

International students have also alleged that many of the courses offered by the EUL are not accredited by international bodies. Nursing, which has attracted a substantial number of African students to the institution, they said, was recognised only in Turkey.

Efforts by University World News to obtain a comment on the concerns raised by students from the European University of Lefke were unsuccessful.

Ashraf Saleem, team leader at Voices of International Students in Cyprus (VOIS), said that foreign students in a number of universities were plagued by similar challenges, and institutions showed no obligation to care for students.

A survey conducted at five of the biggest universities in Northern Cyprus and published by VOIS last year highlighted that at least 30% of students indicated that they had faced some form of unfair treatment from staff members during their years of study. The pandemic has, however, exacerbated the situation, with many cases of racial prejudice against African students surfacing.

Three students die in fatal crash

The student community was recently plunged into mourning following the death of three Zimbabwean students in a fatal crash on 20 October.

A report released by the police stated that all three victims were students at the European University of Lefke and they died as a result of injuries sustained during the car crash. Even though the main cause of the accident could not be ascertained, concerns have been raised by the local community about the traffic management and road safety systems following a spike in road accidents on the island in recent months.

Due to the pandemic, a growing number of African students have resorted to working as ‘uncertified’ taxi drivers, hiring cars and providing transport for other students for a fee in order to sustain themselves.

Saleem noted that “it is a result of decreasing legitimate working opportunities available to international students, as well as the worsening financial situation”. He urged authorities to provide more and better working opportunities for foreign students.