Morocco Scholarship Crisis Exposes Liberia’s Recurring Failure to Protect Students Overseas

Monrovia-For more than six months, dozens of Liberian students pursuing higher education in Morocco say they have been left to survive without the government stipends that enabled them to study abroad, a situation they describe as threatening not only to their education, but also Liberia’s credibility under one of its longest-running bilateral scholarship programs.

By Willie N. Tokpah

In a statement issued Thursday, July 9, the Liberian Students Association in Morocco accused the Government of Liberia of abruptly terminating scholarships for students already enrolled and nearing graduation, leaving many unable to pay rent, utilities, and other living expenses since January 2026.

The students insisted they are not challenging the government’s right to revise scholarship policies.

Instead, they argued the policy was changed after they had already complied with government procedures, registered for classes, completed an academic semester, and received official recognition from the Ministry of Education as legitimate scholarship beneficiaries.

According to aggrieved students,, the Ministry required proof of enrollment before releasing allowances covering September through December 2025, effectively acknowledging their continued eligibility.

The association now questions why those same students suddenly lost their scholarships beginning in January.

“If the Government recognized us as active scholarship beneficiaries in September, why were our scholarships terminated only in January 2026, after we had already completed the first semester?” the students asked.

The association said repeated attempts to engage Education Minister Dr. Jarso Maley Jallah, scholarship administrators, and the Director of Scholarships have failed to produce a solution. Students say they even requested virtual meetings because traveling to Liberia would interrupt their studies.

They also disclosed that they personally raised the issue with President Joseph Nyuma Boakai Sr. during his visit to Morocco.

According to the statement, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, during his visit there, assured them the matter would receive attention, yet months later they remained without allowances or certainty about completing their education.

The Morocco crisis is not the first time Liberian scholarship students overseas have accused successive governments of abandoning them. In July 2019, Liberian students studying in Morocco staged a protest after claiming they had gone ten months without allowances, forcing some from their hostels because they could not pay rent.

At the time, the Government disputed portions of the students’ claims, arguing that some beneficiaries had exceeded the duration of their scholarships while insisting efforts were underway to address the situation.

The Ministry of Education also publicly acknowledged financial challenges affecting scholarship beneficiaries abroad and pledged to process arrears and support students studying in various countries.

Now, nearly seven years later, another group of Liberian students in Morocco are saying, it is confronting many of the same hardships, raising fresh concerns about whether longstanding administrative weaknesses continue to undermine Liberia’s foreign scholarship programs.

Ironically, while the current dispute remained unresolved, the Ministry of Education has continued advertising new Morocco scholarships for the 2026/2027 academic year under the same bilateral program.

When contacted for the government’s position, Assistant Information Minister Saywah Gbah declined to comment on the substance of the allegations.

Minister Gbah said she was not authorized to speak on the matter until consulting with her superiors. For the students, however, every passing month deepens the crisis.

They say many now owe months of rent, face mounting utility bills, and remain only months away from graduation. They warned that interrupting their studies now, would waste years of personal sacrifice and Liberia’s own investment in developing skilled professionals.

Their appeal is straightforward, reinstate the scholarships of currently enrolled students, pay outstanding allowances from January 2026, establish a clear continuation policy, and immediately open dialogue before another generation of Liberian scholars abroad becomes another chapter in a recurring national problem.