NIGERIAN students studying abroad under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship programme, alongside their parents, are set to stage a major protest today (Monday) in Abuja over the government’s prolonged failure to release their stipends.
News Point Nigeria reports that the protest, scheduled for 10am at the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in the Central Business District, was confirmed in a notice issued by the Forum of BEA Scholars.
Parents of the stranded scholars told News Point Nigeria that they would join the demonstration, saying they could no longer cope with the emotional and financial hardship imposed by months of unpaid allowances.
According to the students, the Federal Government has not paid their 2025 stipends, leaving 11 months outstanding. They noted that the approved monthly allowance of $500 was inexplicably slashed by 56 per cent in 2024, with the government paying only $220.
The scholars added that the government still owes arrears for September to December 2023, despite repeated assurances from officials.
Students in countries such as Hungary, Morocco, China, Russia, and Serbia report that they are unable to afford basic needs including food, transport, medical care and accommodation. Many say they have taken up informal jobs, an action that violates the terms of their scholarships—simply to survive.
The Forum of BEA Scholars warned that the deteriorating conditions had pushed many into dangerous situations. The group linked the recent death of a Nigerian scholar in Morocco to the hardships caused by the unpaid stipends.
“We have students who are sick, stranded, homeless or relying on charity. Some are defying scholarship rules by seeking illegal work just to eat,” the notice read. “If the government does not act immediately, more lives may be endangered.”
The protest comes months after the Federal Government, in April 2025, announced the cancellation of the BEA scholarship programme, describing it as “unsustainable” and “inefficient.”
The decision followed months of complaints from Nigerian scholars abandoned abroad due to unpaid allowances. Established through diplomatic partnerships with countries including Russia, China, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Hungary and Serbia, the BEA had sponsored hundreds of Nigerian students across various disciplines.
Federal officials insisted that supplementary payments had been made up to December 2024, but admitted that exchange-rate fluctuations created fresh shortfalls. Nonetheless, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, insisted the programme would be phased out completely.
During a courtesy visit by leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Alausa criticised the programme, revealing staggering costs.
“In 2024, I was asked to approve N650 million for just 60 students going to Morocco under BEA. I refused. It isn’t fair to millions of Nigerian students,” he said.
He added that N9 billion was projected in 2025 to fund 1,200 foreign scholars, despite all their courses being available in Nigerian universities.
The minister also lamented that 85% of BEA scholars do not return to Nigeria, undermining the purpose of government-sponsored education.
Alausa emphasised that current scholars would be supported until graduation, but no new intake will be admitted into the BEA from 2025.
“It is heartbreaking. Many of our children are depressed, some are sick, others are living with friends because they can’t pay rent,” one parent told News Point Nigeria. “We cannot keep silent.”
As the protest begins at the Ministry of Finance, affected families say they will not back down until officials address what they describe as a “life-threatening abandonment” of young Nigerians abroad.