FG to Clear N8 Billion Debt to Stranded BEA Scholars

The Federal Government has announced plans to settle outstanding payments totalling N8 billion owed to Nigerian students who were beneficiaries of the now-defunct Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship scheme.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed during a television interview on Tuesday that N4 billion has already been disbursed, while the remaining N4 billion is expected to be approved within the next two weeks.

According to the minister, the government decided to scrap the scheme following widespread fraud and gross abuse of its original objectives. He revealed that upon assuming office, one of the first files presented to him requested N650 million to sponsor 60 students to Morocco. Among the proposed courses was a scholarship for a Nigerian student to study English in a French-speaking country.

Alausa noted that the BEA programme was initially designed as a diplomatic tool to send Nigerian students abroad for specialised training in critical fields such as engineering, medicine, and aeronautics. However, over time, it degenerated into a general subsidy for overseas education.

He further stated that some beneficiaries were discovered to be simultaneously enrolled in Nigerian universities while collecting BEA funds, a situation he described as unacceptable.

The BEA scheme, which involved diplomatic agreements with countries including China, Russia, Hungary, Morocco, Egypt, and Serbia, had seen its budget grow from N3.2 billion in 2022 to N8 billion by 2025. Prior to its formal cancellation in April 2025, beneficiaries had experienced severe disruptions, including a freeze on payments from September 2023 to August 2024, followed by a sharp reduction in stipends.

The cancellation affected over 1,200 Nigerian students abroad. Although a fresh allocation appeared in the 2026 Appropriation Bill, the government clarified that this was a procedural rollover and not a reversal of the suspension.