Federal Government Allocates N1.764bn for Fresh BEA Scholarships

The Federal Government has earmarked N1.764 billion in the 2026 Appropriation Bill to fund 300 new scholarships for Nigerians under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) programme, a move that raises questions given that the scheme was officially discontinued last year. The allocation is part of the Federal Ministry of Education’s total 2026 budget of N2,398,761,320,016 and is intended to cover allowances, health insurance, travel and other essential needs for the scholarship recipients.

According to the budget document, the N1.764 billion, listed under item ERGP24230073, is for the conduct and implementation of fresh BEA scholarships to study in countries that have bilateral education agreements with Nigeria. An additional N105 million has been set aside for verification of BEA schools in 12 countries, and a further N5.6 billion has been designated to service 1,532 ongoing BEA scholars in donor countries, covering supplementation allowances, medical and health insurance, warm clothing and postgraduate support. These countries include Russia, China, Cuba, Romania, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, Mexico, Venezuela and Kazakhstan.

The budget inclusion comes despite the government’s April 2025 decision to discontinue the BEA scholarship programme, citing waste of public funds and the availability of the same courses in Nigerian universities. At the time, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, explained that the programme was no longer a prudent use of resources and that funds would be redirected to domestic scholarship initiatives that could benefit a larger number of Nigerian students.

Many BEA scholars experienced hardship due to delayed and reduced stipends, with payments halted from September 2023 to August 2024 and subsequent disbursements cut significantly, issues that contributed to the policy review and decision to end new awards.

In response to recent concerns from students abroad about unpaid stipends and hardship, the Minister clarified that all Nigerian students on federal scholarships enrolled before 2024 have received payments up to the 2024 budget year, and that no new bilateral scholarships were issued after October 2025.

The inclusion of funding for new BEA awards in the 2026 budget therefore appears unusual given the official phase-out of the programme, and may prompt further debate over policy direction and budget priorities in Nigeria’s education sector.