The Federal Government has commenced a review of its foreign scholarship and bilateral education arrangements as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary expenditure and channel more resources into strengthening Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government could no longer justify spending public funds to send students abroad to study programmes already available in Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Alausa explained that the policy was aimed at building Nigeria’s domestic educational capacity and ensuring greater value for public spending.
The minister recalled that shortly after assuming office, he was presented with a proposal involving about 100,000 Nigerian students travelling to Morocco to study courses taught in English, including mass communication and journalism.
He said the proposal raised concerns because the programmes were already available in Nigeria, while the students would reportedly have to spend their first year learning French before commencing their studies.
According to Alausa, the government concluded that continuing the arrangement in its previous form would constitute an inefficient use of public resources.
He said Nigeria had significantly expanded the capacity of its tertiary institutions over the past two decades, reducing the need for large-scale government-funded overseas scholarships.
The Federal Government has consequently discontinued new government-funded awards under its Bilateral Education Agreement scholarship programme, while students already benefiting from existing arrangements will continue receiving support until they complete their studies.
The minister, however, clarified that the policy does not constitute a ban on foreign scholarships. Foreign governments willing to independently sponsor Nigerian students can continue to provide such opportunities.
Alausa said the government would be more selective in committing public funds to overseas education, particularly where comparable programmes are available within Nigeria.
He explained that foreign scholarship arrangements were originally established when Nigerian tertiary institutions lacked the capacity to offer certain programmes at scale.
However, he noted that Nigeria has since developed substantial capacity across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The scholarship review forms part of broader Federal Ministry of Education reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s education system under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with greater emphasis on domestic capacity, efficient public spending and improved tertiary education.
