Fulbright scholar Aubrey Ray was to be paid for three months by the US government through an education assistant at a school for Ukrainian refugees in Estonia. Instead, he only got a salary of about a week and there was no word on when he might see the rest of his grant.
Lay, one of the academics who rely on State Department funds to participate in long-term programs like Fulbright, says payments have been suddenly cut after officials received notification that they were reviewing their activities. The move appears to be in line with the White House initiative to significantly reduce government spending. This is a shakeup that has impacted many federal agencies.
The government is facing even more dramatic changes in the coming weeks and months. President Donald Trump has directed agency Prepare extensive layoff plansknown as effective reductions, may require more limited operations at institutions providing critical services.
The funding freeze has sparked panic among thousands of academics who left their area outside their home country without clarifying the future of their program or the money they needed to support themselves.
In February, the US State Department temporarily suspended its spending to consider programs and activities. According to NAFSAInternational Association of Educators. This included programs such as Fulbright, Gilman and International Critical Language Scholarships. In the weeks since officials enacted the suspension, some scholars and advocacy groups said funding flows have dried up due to people’s grants, but there has been no communication from US officials about whether that will change.
The State Department did not comment on the financing freeze following an investigation by the Associated Press over the weekend.
Ray discovered that lack of communication from US officials was troublesome. He also wondered about the future of the programme his grandmother took part in decades ago. after that Founded in 1946the program became the flagship of the US government’s mission to intercultural involvement.
“I don’t want to be transformed and uncertain in their lives,” Ray said. “I can’t stand that idea.”
Ray said he’ll be fine for another month, but he’s worried about participants who can’t save extra money.
“The clarity I got is that no one knows what’s going on,” he said. “The clarity I got is that every time I ask anyone, they don’t know what’s going on and they’re just as confused as all of us.”
Thousands of academics are in similar positions, according to the Fulbright Association, a nonprofit made up of graduates. In an email in the newsletter, the association said the halt of funding would affect “more than 12,500 American students, youth and experts who are currently planning to participate in the State Department program overseas, overseas.”
Apart from American citizens, the Fulbright Association said the suspension cut funding for a US program that hosts more than 7,400 people.
Kiev’s Fulbright scholar Harina Morozova, who teaches Ukrainians to students at Edwardsville, University of Southern Illinois, said she was at the airport on February 28th after she felt like an endless day. president Donald Trump Ukrainian president blamed Volodymyr Zelenskyy Early in the day Extraordinary oval office meeting. Her future in the country and her family back home was heavier and heavier on her heart.
She then received an email from the International Education Institute, known as IIE, which commonly administers the Fulbright Scholarship.
“IIE is currently permitted to send partial pay equivalent to one week of expected upcoming scholarship payments,” the email said. “We’ll update future payments as soon as possible.”
Morozova paniced. She usually receives $750 a month. Now she needs to increase $187.50 to achieve her goal.
“It was very scary. I’d say it just because I’m lost in another country,” she said. “I don’t know if we’ll get another scholarship here and if they have enough money to buy our tickets at home. So there’s a lot of things that aren’t clear and certainly not certain.”
Olga Bezanova, a professor who manages Morozova and two other academics, said that exchange programs have been in place at her university for nearly 20 years, and the foundation of language education. Now, she is trying to see if the university will supplement funds withheld by the federal government. If that doesn’t work, she said she doesn’t know what else she could do.
“I have to see the faces of these wonderful people, and they’re asking me: “Is this America? What is this?” she said. “This is a mess.”
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Olivia Diaz is a legional member of the Associated Press/America Statehouse News Initiative Report. American Report It is a non-profit, national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms and reports on secret issues.
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