‘It was wasting government funds’ — Alausa explains why FG suspended BEA scholarship
Tunji Alausa, minister of education, says the Federal Government suspended the bilateral education agreement (BEA) scholarship scheme, after finding out that the programme had become an avenue for wasting public funds.
Alausa spoke on Wednesday while addressing a press conference in Abuja on the tertiary institutions national laureate prize.
The minister said the decision was in line with President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to ensuring that government resources are used efficiently.
He said the BEA scheme, which had enabled Nigerian students to study abroad for several years, no longer made sense because some of the courses offered to beneficiaries were already available in Nigerian universities.
Alausa specifically cited countries such as Morocco, where Nigerian students had been sent to study courses including mass communication, journalism and psychology.
According to him, beneficiaries were also required to spend their first year learning French before commencing their degree programmes.
“The bilateral education agreement was not making sense. Again, to us as a government. It was a way to waste government funds,” he said.
“And this president did not waste any funds.”
The minister also raised concerns about alleged abuses in the administration of the scholarship scheme.
He recalled an instance in which an aide informed him that two of his brothers who had been selected for the scholarship and were expected to be studying in Morocco were actually in Nigeria.
Alausa said the government would no longer continue funding the scheme in its previous form, although other countries could continue to offer scholarships to Nigerians.
FG TO REDIRECT BEA FUNDS TO LOCAL EDUCATION
The minister said funds previously committed to the BEA scholarship would be redirected to support tertiary education within Nigeria.
He said the money would be channelled through local institutions and initiatives, including the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the Nigeria Education Repository and Databank (NERD).
According to Alausa, the funds would support infrastructure, technical and engineering education, as well as research and innovation through the newly launched Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize.
He said the shift was part of the government’s broader effort to build an education system that produces solutions, enterprises and measurable national value rather than one focused solely on awarding certificates.
Alausa said the government wanted to ensure that scholarship, research and innovation received greater recognition within Nigeria.
