Published: March 14, 2025
MONROVIA – The Liberia National Students’ Union (LINSU) has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Government of Liberia (GOL), demanding the immediate settlement of financial allowances owed to Liberian students studying in Morocco.
The organization has described the students’ current living conditions as “disgusting and unacceptable.”
LINSU’s demand was outlined in a press release issued on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in Monrovia. The statement urged the government to take urgent action to address four key concerns, including the dire financial and learning conditions of the students in Morocco. LINSU stressed that the payment of financial allowances is critical to alleviating the students’ suffering.
LINSU’s Key Demands
LINSU is calling on the Liberian government to:
- Immediately disburse the overdue financial allowances to the students.
- Reimburse or directly cover rent, registration, and residence permit costs that were not disclosed to students before their departure.
- Establish a structured and transparent financial support system to prevent future delays.
- Ensure future scholarship recipients receive adequate support to prevent similar hardships.
Alarming Living Conditions of Liberian Students in Morocco
According to the statement, Liberian scholarship students in Morocco have reached out to LINSU, expressing distress over their dire financial and living conditions.
LINSU emphasized that these students, who left Liberia with the hope of contributing to the nation’s development, now find themselves in a state of neglect and hardship due to delayed financial support.
Reports gathered from students indicate that they arrived in November 2024 with only US$150, an amount LINSU described as grossly inadequate for their survival. Many students were initially promised dormitory accommodations but were forced to secure private housing at unexpected costs upon arrival.
Additionally, students are struggling with unpaid registration fees, residence permit charges, and the high cost of living in a foreign country—all while lacking the financial support they were assured before leaving Liberia.
“With the daily increase in corruption and public waste, LINSU wants to state categorically that this situation is utterly disgusting, unacceptable, and requires urgent intervention from the Government of Liberia,” the statement declared.
Warning of Consequences for Further Delays
LINSU warned that any further delay in addressing the students’ plight not only threatens their academic progress but also places them at great personal risk in a foreign land.
As the nation’s leading student advocacy body, LINSU has initiated formal engagements with relevant government institutions, including the Ministries of Education, Finance and Development Planning, and Foreign Affairs, through written communication to ensure an immediate and long-term resolution to this crisis.
“We have issued a 72-hour ultimatum and insist that the Government of Liberia act swiftly,” the statement emphasized.
LINSU Pledges Continued Advocacy for Students
LINSU, under the leadership of President James Gbelee Washington, reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for the rights and well-being of Liberian students both at home and abroad.
“We want to assure our comrades in Morocco that we will not relent until their concerns are fully addressed,” the statement read.
The student body strongly warned the Liberian government against inaction, cautioning that failure to intervene could spark mass resistance from the student population in Liberia.
“The well-being and future of these students—and, by extension, the future of Liberia—depend on swift and decisive action,” LINSU stated.
“Any further delay by the Government of Liberia and its relevant authorities will result in stiff and spontaneous resistance from the Liberian student community,” the statement concluded.
Senator Snowe’s Recent Position on the Same Matter
On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Bomi County Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe formally wrote to the Plenary of the Liberian Senate, bringing to its attention the difficulties confronting Liberian students studying in Morocco under the Government of Liberia’s bilateral scholarship program.
Snowe recalled that on February 27, 2025, a resolution outlining the grievances of students—similar to those emphasized by LINSU—was presented to the Ministry of Education, demanding urgent national intervention.
He urged the Plenary to immediately engage relevant organs of government to ensure relief for the students and establish a structured support system to address the financial and living conditions of current and future government scholarship recipients.
Our legislative reporter said the august body mandated the Joint Committee on Education, Public Administration, and Foreign Affairs to investigate the concerns raised by Senator Snowe and report its findings to the Plenary within two weeks.
The decision was triggered by a motion from Lofa County Senator Joseph Jallah.
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