Surinamese students in &uEa Zithout money

Surinamese students who are currently in Cuba on a scholarship reportedly have not received any money from the Surinamese government for the past 9 months. The students are still waiting for their scholarship money for the school year 20172018 which means that the Surinamese government is behind with the payments. The students sounded the alarm because they are afraid of getting into financial trouble if they do not get the money. The payments usually take place in August but for the past two years the payments were delayed for 6 to 7 months. In the past the students had to ask the minister of Finance and the minister of Education for help in order to get their money. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture accepted the responsibility of helping the students but the students must in fact wait much longer for their scholarship money. Education Minister Lilian Ferrier explained that the delay is the result of a long process. The government’s lack of funds could also have caused the delay in payments. “This matter was brought to my attention two weeks ago and I immediately presented it to the Council of Ministers. It is unacceptable for our students who are abroad to wait this long for their scholarship money regardless of where they are,” said Minister Ferrier who added that a large sum of money must be wired to Cuba which is why the matter had to be presented to the Council of Ministers for approval. After the Council of Ministers has given its approval, the paperwork is sent to the Ministry of Finance. “This case will be handled this week so that the students can get their scholarship money as soon as possible.”