The Federal Government has begun reviewing its foreign scholarship and bilateral education programmes, with a view to reducing unnecessary expenditure and redirecting funds towards strengthening Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government could no longer justify spending scarce public resources to send students abroad to study programmes already offered by Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Alausa said the decision followed concerns over the cost and relevance of some existing arrangements. He recalled a proposal to send about 100,000 Nigerian students to Morocco to study courses taught in English, including mass communication and journalism.
According to him, the proposal would have required the students to spend their first year learning French before beginning their academic programmes, despite the availability of similar courses in Nigeria.
The minister said the government consequently concluded that the Bilateral Education Agreement, in its previous form, was no longer an efficient use of public funds.
He, however, clarified that the policy does not amount to a blanket ban on scholarships offered by foreign governments. Countries willing to sponsor Nigerian students can continue to do so, while the Federal Government intends to be more selective in committing public funds to overseas education.
The government has also assured existing beneficiaries of bilateral scholarships that they will continue to receive support until the completion of their studies, even though new government-funded awards under the reviewed arrangement have been discontinued.
Alausa said the circumstances that prompted the establishment of the programmes decades ago had changed, noting that Nigeria had significantly expanded its capacity in universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
The scholarship review forms part of broader reforms by the Federal Ministry of Education under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, including efforts to strengthen tertiary institutions, expand technical and vocational education, promote research and innovation, and improve digital education.
The minister said the government was also strengthening domestic student support through scholarships, bursaries and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
He stressed that Nigeria’s education system must increasingly focus on producing skills, research and innovations capable of driving economic and industrial development.
According to Alausa, the success of the country’s education system should no longer be measured merely by the number of certificates awarded, but by its ability to transform knowledge and research into practical solutions and economic value.