The Federal Government has begun reviewing its foreign scholarship programmes and bilateral education agreements as part of efforts to reduce unnecessary spending and channel more resources into Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the government could no longer continue spending scarce public funds on overseas education when many of the courses being sponsored were already available in Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.
Alausa explained that the review was aimed at ensuring that education funds were used more effectively while improving the capacity of institutions within the country.
He recalled that shortly after assuming office, he was presented with a proposal that would have involved about 100,000 Nigerian students travelling to Morocco to study courses delivered in English.
The proposal, according to the minister, included programmes such as mass communication and journalism, which are already offered by many Nigerian tertiary institutions.
He said the proposed arrangement would also have required the students to spend their first year learning French before beginning their main academic programmes.
The minister said the cost of sending such a large number of students abroad could not be justified when Nigeria already had institutions capable of providing the required education.
He explained that the government therefore decided that the existing Bilateral Education Agreement arrangement was no longer an efficient way of using public funds.
The Federal Government had earlier announced the discontinuation of government-funded BEA scholarships for new beneficiaries while retaining financial support for students who were already studying under the previous arrangement.
Existing beneficiaries are expected to continue receiving support until they complete their programmes, meaning the policy does not affect students who had already been approved under the earlier scholarship scheme.
The decision also does not prevent foreign governments from offering scholarships to Nigerians.
According to the education minister, countries that are willing to sponsor Nigerian students can continue to do so, but the Federal Government will be more careful about committing Nigerian funds to overseas education.
Alausa said the reasons for sending large numbers of Nigerian students abroad decades ago had changed because the country had expanded its tertiary education capacity considerably.
He noted that universities, polytechnics and colleges of education had developed programmes and facilities that were not widely available when some of the foreign scholarship arrangements were introduced.
RELATED STORIES
Related Posts
The government’s position forms part of wider reforms being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Education under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The reforms are focused on improving tertiary education, expanding technical and vocational training, strengthening research and innovation, increasing digital learning and developing skills that can meet the needs of the Nigerian economy.
The government is also seeking to make technical and vocational education more practical by updating curricula, improving training facilities and building stronger links between educational institutions and industries.
Alausa has repeatedly argued that public spending on education should produce clear results, especially at a time when the government has several competing development needs.
The minister said retaining more education spending within Nigeria would help strengthen local institutions and improve their ability to train students to international standards.
He also pointed to cases where students were listed for overseas scholarships even though they were studying similar programmes in Nigerian universities, describing such situations as another reason for reviewing the system.
Rather than focusing mainly on sending students abroad, the government wants to direct more resources towards Nigerian students and institutions.
Alongside the scholarship review, the Federal Government has been expanding domestic financial support for students through scholarships, bursaries and the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
These measures are intended to reduce financial barriers to tertiary education and give more Nigerian students access to higher education without depending on overseas opportunities.
The ministry is also placing greater attention on research and innovation, particularly research that can be developed into businesses, technologies and solutions for local industries.
As part of this effort, Alausa recently inaugurated the Tertiary Institution National Gallery Prize Committee to recognise outstanding academic research and innovation among students and researchers.
The initiative is intended to encourage students to connect academic work with practical solutions, entrepreneurship and industrial development.
The minister said the long-term objective was to build a tertiary education system capable of producing skilled graduates, useful research and innovations that can support Nigeria’s economic development.
The foreign scholarship review therefore represents part of a broader attempt by the Federal Government to retain more education resources within the country while improving the quality and capacity of Nigerian tertiary institutions.
Comments are closed.