The Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) has debunked recent allegations suggesting that it abandoned Liberian students studying in the People’s Republic of China under the Guizhou Scholarship Program, describing the claim as inaccurate, misleading, and fails to reflect the extensive efforts the MCC has made to support the beneficiaries before, during, and after their departure to China.
It can be recalled that on April 15, 2025 the MCC announced five fully sponsored scholarship opportunities at Guizhou University for outstanding residents of Monrovia pursuing studies in agriculture, engineering, and environmental science. Accordingly, five qualified students were selected and are currently enrolled at Guizhou University, where they have successfully completed their first academic year.
Unfortunately, MCC said, one student violated both university regulations and Chinese law after being caught stealing from the university dormitory. “Following a police investigation, CCTV footage confirmed the offense. As a result, the university revoked the student’s scholarship and initiated deportation proceedings. This disciplinary action was solely the decision of the university authorities and was unrelated to the MCC. The remaining four students continue to perform well academically,” the MCC observed.
Furthermore, on May 8, 2025, the MCC secured an additional twenty international scholarships from Guizhou Province for Liberian students to study at Guizhou Normal University and Guizhou Institute of Technology. Again, more than 500 Liberians applied for these scholarships through a transparent and competitive process. Following aptitude examinations and evaluations, the twenty highest-performing applicants were awarded scholarships.
The scholarship conditions were publicly announced from the beginning and included one-year intensive Chinese language program, progression to undergraduate degree programs only after successfully passing the HSK Level 4 Chinese Language Examination, full tuition waiver, and full accommodation waiver.
“Importantly, the scholarship did not include any living allowance, and the HSK Level 4 examination requirement was never introduced by the MCC. It has always been an official academic requirement established by the participating Chinese universities for admission into Chinese-medium undergraduate programs.
“Although payment for the HSK Level 4 examination was not part of MCC’s obligations under the scholarship agreement, the corporation listened to concerns raised by students who indicated they lacked funds to register for the examination. In good faith, and solely to support the students’ academic progress, the MCC transferred US$150 to each student to enable them to register for and sit the HSK Level 4 examination. This financial assistance exceeded the corporation’s responsibilities under the scholarship arrangement.
“Regrettably, some students accepted the funds but deliberately failed to sit for the examination, while others later informed the MCC that they believed Chinese was too difficult and requested that their degree programs be changed from Chinese to English,” MCC disclosed.
Consequently, such requests cannot be accommodated because the scholarship agreement approved by the Chinese institutions specifically requires successful completion of the Chinese Language Foundation Program and passing HSK Level 4 before students can transition into their degree programs. But rather than abandoning the students, the MCC immediately engaged its Chinese partners after students expressed concerns about passing HSK Level 4.
After the Corporation formally requested that the universities extend the language foundation program by an additional year to allow students more time to improve their Chinese proficiency, the universities explained that the scholarship only finances one year of Chinese language training; as such, any additional year would fall outside the scholarship agreement, and any extension would therefore require full financial payment.
Despite this response, the MCC said it continued negotiations to secure a reasonable arrangement that would enable affected students to continue their studies.
According to MCC, prior to departure, the MCC established an official communication platform for all scholarship recipients, where every scholarship condition was shared, university requirements explained, and the HSK Level 4 requirement clearly communicated, but no beneficiary objected to these scholarship conditions before traveling to China. “It is therefore inaccurate to suggest that students were unaware of the language requirements after arrival,” the MCC maintained.
The MCC noted that it has also received several official communications from both Guizhou Institute of Technology and Guizhou Normal University expressing concern over the academic conduct of some students. According to the universities, some students failed to attend classes regularly, while others maintained poor attendance records. Such conduct violates university regulations and jeopardizes scholarship eligibility.
The corporation reiterated that the allegation that it abandoned students in China is both unfair and unsupported by the facts. “On the contrary, the MCC has consistently demonstrated its commitment by successfully securing twenty-five international scholarships for Liberian students, conducting a transparent and merit-based selection process, maintaining continuous communication with students, providing additional financial assistance beyond its contractual obligations by paying US$150 to each student for the HSK Level 4 examination, engaging Chinese partner institutions to seek possible extensions for struggling students, and continuing negotiations despite not being legally obligated to do so.
“While the MCC remains committed to supporting Liberian students, scholarship recipients also have a corresponding responsibility to comply with the academic requirements, attendance policies, and conditions of the scholarships they voluntarily accepted,” the corporation added.
The corporation said it will continue working with its Chinese partners in the best interest of all students while respecting the academic regulations governing these international scholarship programs.
