Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Honourable Minister of Education, has clarified that all Nigerian students on federal scholarships have received their payments up to the 2024 budget year.
The minister made the statement to address concerns over scholarship disbursements circulating online.
The clarification follows viral social media posts from Nigerian students under the Bilateral Education Scholarship Programme in Morocco, alleging delays in payments and reporting hardship, homelessness, and lack of access to medical support.
What the minister said
Dr. Alausa stated that all beneficiaries enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship (BES) Programme prior to 2024 have received payments up to the 2024 budget year, in line with the Federal Government’s obligations.
The ministry explained that any temporary delays in outstanding payments are due to fiscal constraints and are being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Federal Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance.
“No Nigerian student on a valid Federal Government scholarship has been abandoned. All beneficiaries duly enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship (BES) Programme prior to 2024 have received payments up to the 2024 budget year, in line with the Federal Government’s obligations.
“Any temporary delays in outstanding payments are attributable to fiscal constraints and are currently being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Federal Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance,” they stated
He also clarified that no new bilateral scholarship awards were issued in October 2025 or thereafter.
The minister described documents suggesting otherwise as fake and unauthenticated, warning that they are part of a calculated attempt to mislead the public and discredit government policy.
Backstory
This is not the first time scholarship students have raised concerns over delayed payments and financial hardship. In March 2025, the Union of Nigerian Bilateral Education Agreement Scholars (UNBEAS) highlighted delayed stipends and a 56% reduction in allowances, leaving many students struggling to survive.
According to UNBEAS, students last received payments for January to August 2023, but even those disbursements fell short by over two months’ worth of stipends due to exchange rate fluctuations.
- Payments for September to December 2023 were not made, and when stipends resumed in September 2024, they had been cut from $500 to $220.
- Students cited eviction, inability to pay rent, food shortages, and illness as ongoing challenges despite partial stipend payments.
- The union said many students remained reliant on these stipends, and families in Nigeria could no longer support them due to the country’s economic realities.
In April 2025, the Federal Government announced the suspension or termination of the BEA/BES programme after a comprehensive review showed that most of the courses pursued abroad were already available in Nigerian universities and institutions, making it less justifiable to continue funding them overseas.
More insights
Dr. Alausa explained that the decision to discontinue government-funded bilateral scholarships abroad followed a comprehensive policy review, which established that Nigeria now possesses sufficient capacity within its universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education to deliver the affected programmes locally.
Consequently, only scholarships that are fully funded by foreign governments are now being supported, with all financial obligations borne entirely by the host countries.
Notwithstanding this policy shift, he stated that the Federal Government remains fully committed to students already enrolled under the previous arrangements and will continue to support them until the completion of their programmes.
