The federal government is ending a major scholarship programme (Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship Programme) for university students abroad, citing the improvement of higher education at home and the country’s “limited public funds.”
The move comes as the country faces an economic crisis following reforms by President Bola Tinubu.
“Every course Nigerians travel abroad to study through the BEA is now available and often of higher quality within our own universities and polytechnics,” said Education Minister Morufu Olatunji Alausa in a statement, announcing the end of the programme.
“It is no longer justifiable to fund overseas studies with public resources when local alternatives exist.”
Alausa said the money would be better spent on strengthening Nigeria’s own universities.
Students currently enrolled will continue to receive funding through the end of their studies, he said.
After taking office in May 2023, Tinubu embarked on an economic reform drive, which the government said was necessary to right the public finances of the continent’s most populous country.
The Nigerian leader scrapped costly fuel subsidies and relaxed the exchange rate for the naira currency — moves that have sent inflation soaring but which supporters say are necessary in the long run.
While the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month reiterated its support for the reforms, it noted that the “gains have yet to benefit all Nigerians as poverty and food insecurity remain high”.
