The Federal Ministry of Education has clarified that the inclusion of the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship in the 2026 national budget does not mean the reinstatement of new foreign scholarship awards under the programme.
Dr Tunji Alausa, Minister of Education, disclosed this in a statement issued by Folasade Boriowo, Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education, on Friday in Abuja.
Alausa said the clarification became necessary following public concerns and online reports suggesting a contradiction between the government’s earlier decision to discontinue the scheme and its appearance in the 2026 budget.
He explained that the allocation originated from the 2025 national budget, which had already been passed and signed into law before the Federal Government halted the processing of new BEA scholarship awards in April and May 2025.
The Minister noted that under Nigeria’s budgeting framework, provisions in an already approved budget cannot be removed retroactively. He added that the BEA component therefore remained part of the 2025 budget structure.
According to him, the 2026 budget currently being implemented is largely a roll-over of the 2025 fiscal plan, with about 30 per cent retained from the previous year and 70 per cent projected for the current cycle.
He said all existing budget lines, including those for the BEA scholarship, were carried forward as part of the standard fiscal process.
The Minister emphasised that the continued appearance of the BEA allocation in the budget document was purely procedural and does not signify the resumption of new scholarship awards.
He stated that any adjustment to the BEA budget line in the 2026 Appropriation Act could only be made through an approved virement, after which the allocation would be realigned with current government policies and priorities.
Dr Alausa reassured that Nigerian students currently benefiting from the BEA scholarship abroad would continue to receive full government support in line with existing commitments.
He urged the public to disregard misleading interpretations of the budget figures that do not reflect the technical realities of budget formulation and roll-over practices.
