Alausa Critiques BEA Scholarships as Public Fund Waste

Dr. Olatunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, stated that the Federal Government's Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship scheme is a waste of public funds. Speaking in Abuja during the unveiling of the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize, he argued that Nigeria now has sufficient tertiary institutions to offer many programs for which students are currently sponsored abroad.

Alausa mentioned that the government is reviewing international scholarship arrangements to ensure that public resources are used effectively. He highlighted a proposal for 150 Nigerian students to study in Morocco at a cost of approximately N650 million for one year, noting that many of the programs were already available in Nigeria.

Alausa emphasized that spending such large sums on foreign scholarships, especially for programs that require additional language training, is unjustifiable. He affirmed that while the government is not opposed to international scholarships, it will not commit public funds to programs that do not provide adequate benefits.