The federal government, on January 11, allocated ₦1.764 billion in the 2026 appropriation bill to fund 300 new scholarships for Nigerians under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) programme.
The allocation, listed under the federal ministry of education, will cover allowances, health insurance, travel, and other essential needs for these scholars.
This comes despite the programme’s official discontinuation last year, citing the waste of public funds and the availability of courses in Nigerian universities.
Details from the budget document show that it allocates N1.764 billion for the conduct and implementation of 300 new scholarships for Nigerians to study in countries with bilateral education agreements with Nigeria, under item ERGP24230073.
A further N105 million has been earmarked for the verification of BEA schools in 12 countries by officials of the federal ministry of education in item ERGP24230092.
In addition to this, N5.6 billion under the line item ERGP24230060 is designated for the servicing of ongoing 1,532 BEA scholars in donor countries, which includes payment of a supplementation allowance, medical expenses, health insurance, warm clothing, and postgraduate allowance.
These costs are intended to cover Nigerian students studying in countries such as Russia, China, Cuba, Romania, Turkey, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Serbia, Hungary, Ukraine, Mexico, Venezuela and Kazakstan.
In April 2025, the Nigerian government officially discontinued the BEA scholarship programme, citing inefficient use of public funds and the availability of the same courses in Nigerian universities.
Many students faced severe hardship due to delayed and reduced stipends, with payments completely halted from September 2023 to August 2024 and subsequent disbursements cut by more than half. ‘
The government decided to redirect funds from the BEA programme to domestic scholarship schemes to support a larger number of Nigerian students while allowing current beneficiaries to complete their studies.
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