BEA Scholarship Crisis: Students and Parents Protest at Finance Ministry Over 11 Months of Unpaid Allowances.
Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) and their parents are scheduled to stage a protest today (Monday) in Abuja over the prolonged non-payment of scholarship stipends, which has caused distress among the scholars. The demonstration, organized by the Forum of BEA Scholars, will take place at 10 a.m. at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in the Central District.
The affected students, who are entitled to a $500 monthly stipend, state they have not received any payment this year, leaving 11 months of arrears. Parents, citing the heavy financial and emotional toll of supporting their stranded children, confirmed they would join the protest.
The scholars further revealed that the Federal Government had drastically cut their 2024 stipends by 56 per cent, reducing the approved monthly payment of $500 to just $220. Compounding the financial crisis, the government still owes them arrears for September through December 2023. Studying in countries like Hungary, Morocco, China, Russia, and Serbia, many students reported struggling to afford basic necessities, including food, accommodation, medical care, and transportation, due to the prolonged payment delays. The Forum of BEA Scholars reported that this desperation has forced many students to seek informal jobs in violation of their scholarship terms, while others are now dependent on charity.
The Forum of BEA Scholars directly connected the recent death of a Nigerian student in Morocco to the hardship caused by the unpaid allowances, warning that more students face similar risks if the government does not urgently remit payments.
This crisis comes after the Federal Government announced the cancellation of the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship programme in April 2025. The government cited the program’s unsustainability and inefficient use of public funds as reasons for the decision, which followed months of complaints from stranded scholars abroad about the failure to meet financial obligations. Established through diplomatic agreements with countries including China, Russia, Morocco, and Hungary, the BEA scheme has historically sponsored hundreds of Nigerian students for higher education overseas.
Despite recent Federal Government assurances that all supplementary allowances had been paid up to December 2024—and that further funds were requested to cover remaining entitlements affected by exchange rate changes—the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the definitive end of the programme. Speaking during a courtesy visit by officials of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Alausa stated the government would re-channel BEA funding into domestic scholarship programmes to benefit a wider range of Nigerian students.
Justifying his decision, Alausa cited a disparity in funding: “In 2024, when I assumed office, I was asked to approve N650m for 60 students going to Morocco under the BEA programme. I refused. It’s not fair to Nigerian students,” he explained.
Minister Alausa expressed deep dissatisfaction with the lack of oversight and performance monitoring in the BEA scheme, noting the government paid for annual travel without tracking the scholars’ academic progress. He presented a staggering cost comparison: “In 2025 alone, we projected N9bn to fund just 1,200 students abroad. Meanwhile, millions of students in Nigeria get no support. It’s unjust and unsustainable.” Alausa revealed that every course being studied abroad by these 1,200 beneficiaries is already offered in Nigerian universities.
Lamenting that 85 per cent of scholars sent abroad never return to contribute to national development, the Minister confirmed that while current BEA beneficiaries will be supported to complete their studies, the scheme will not admit new students beyond 2025. Alausa concluded that the funds will be redirected to local scholarships and support, signaling a policy shift toward investing more in building local capacity. Additionally, he announced that tertiary institutions with fewer than 2,000 students will lose eligibility for funding from the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The Federal Government’s decision to cease funding foreign scholarships has directly resulted in the stranding of several beneficiaries of the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship programme in various foreign countries.
