Vietnamese male student 'stuck' in Belarus

Although he received a scholarship under an agreement in Belarus, for 4-6 months, Nghia was not given money for living expenses and had many problems with his studies.

Le Trong Nghia, a student at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, was sent by the Department of International Cooperation to study in Belarus under an intergovernmental agreement between the two countries in 2022. On October 23, Nghia sent a "rescue" letter to the Ministry of Education and Training because he was not accepted by the other side under this scholarship, causing his studies to be delayed and his life to be difficult.

Nghia said he and two other students flew to Belarus last December. The scholarship includes tuition, living expenses, health insurance, airfare, passport and visa fees, etc. Every month, the international students receive living expenses support of about 17.5 million VND (more than 700 USD). Of which, the Vietnamese side pays 10 million VND, the rest is paid by the Belarusian side (not including the time spent studying Russian).

Polessky State University, Pinsk, Belarus. Photo: Just Arrived — Polessky State University, Pinsk, Belarus. Photo: *Just Arrived*

According to Nghia, the three students had to take a Russian language course before enrolling in their majors in early September this year. Nghia was sent to study Business Administration at Polessky State University and took the language course with another student there. The remaining male student studied at another school.

However, in June, Nghia was informed by the school's international cooperation department that all Vietnamese students coming to Belarus in 2022 would not be accepted under the agreement. The reason given by the school was that the Belarusian Ministry of Education and Training had not received the relevant documents from the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training.

"If we want to continue studying in Belarus, we have to pay like any other international students," Nghia said.

The male student and his friends contacted and sent relevant documents to the Ministry of Education and Training in July. In October, the International Cooperation Department sent them a document from the Belarusian Embassy in Vietnam, stating that they would accept all three. The Department instructed them to bring the document to the school to enroll under the agreement. However, the school said that this was a tuition-free scholarship provided by the school.

Nghia was admitted to the major on October 13. However, classes started on September 4, which meant he had been absent for half a semester, had no attendance points, did not take part in tests, and missed out on a lot of basic knowledge.

"In Belarus, if our academic results are poor or our absenteeism rate is high, we can be expelled," Nghia explained. Nghia and his friends are also worried about having to repeat a class and losing the chance to get an excellent degree.

In addition, from the day he arrived until May 2023, Nghia did not receive any living expenses from the Vietnamese side. His family in his hometown was poor but had to borrow money and ask relatives to send it to Nghia to cover food and pay for dormitory fees. In May, the Ministry transferred Nghia 7 months of living expenses, then stopped. The male student said that during the past time, he had to live on rice, vegetables, and food from the support of the Vietnamese community in Belarus.

"I had hoped for a bright future, wanted to study abroad so as not to be a burden on my family, but I didn't expect it to be like this," Nghia said.

Nghia said that according to the announcement of enrollment to study in Belarus under the agreement in 2022, those who do not complete the training program, drop out of school, or are forced to leave school must reimburse the training costs. Therefore, if he returns home, the male student may have to pay hundreds of millions in compensation, but staying without receiving living expenses will be very difficult. The normal cost of living in Belarus is currently about 10 million VND per month, but for international students, this amount will be higher due to having to pay for insurance, household registration, etc. Dormitory fees are also 5 times higher than for local students.

Therefore, Nghia and his friends' wish is to be re-admitted next year, still under the agreement.

On the afternoon of October 25, Mr. Nguyen Hai Thanh, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Education and Training, confirmed that he had received information about the three international students since July. The Department has advised the Ministry's leaders to send a diplomatic note to the Belarusian Embassy in Vietnam and the Vietnamese Embassy in Belarus, requesting to accept the three international students to study in specialized fields under the agreement.

As of October 5, the Belarusian Embassy in Vietnam said it would accept the students but only exempt tuition fees, according to Mr. Thanh.

Regarding Nghia's wishes, he said Belarus does not agree to allow international students to suspend their studies for a year, unless there are health reasons or they have to perform military service.

"The Department will discuss with Belarus to ensure rights and policies for international students under the agreement," Mr. Thanh shared.

Explaining the delay in paying living expenses, Mr. Thanh said that due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the money could not be transferred. The plan to transfer money to the students' accounts in Vietnam has not been approved yet. Regarding the fact that the Belarusian Ministry of Education and Training initially did not accept the documents, Mr. Thanh did not give a specific answer.

The Belarusian government scholarship is part of the agreement on educational cooperation between Belarus and Vietnam. Each year, there are 20 scholarships, divided equally among undergraduate, master's, doctoral and trainee levels. To be considered for a university scholarship, students must have a total score of 7 or higher in three years of high school and the first semester of university. If applying from grade 12, in addition to the academic requirements, students must also achieve excellent student awards in regional, national and international competitions.

Dawn

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