By Joseph Erunke, Abuja
The federal government has dismissed as false reports alleging that Nigerian scholarship students in the Kingdom of Morocco have been abandoned, insisting that all valid beneficiaries remain under government support.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, said claims circulating in some quarters were “false, unfounded and deliberately crafted to mislead the public.”
“No Nigerian student on a valid Federal Government scholarship has been abandoned,” Alausa stated in a statement on Wednesday, through the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Boriowo Folasade.
He added, “All beneficiaries duly enrolled under the Bilateral Education Scholarship Programme before 2024 have been paid up to the 2024 budget year, in line with the Federal Government’s obligations.”
He explained that delays in settling outstanding payments were due to fiscal constraints, noting that the matter was already receiving attention.
“Any temporary delay in payments is a result of prevailing fiscal realities and is being addressed through ongoing engagements between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance,” the minister said.
Dr Alausa also debunked claims that new bilateral scholarship awards were granted in October 2025 or thereafter, describing documents being circulated to support such claims as fake.
“No new bilateral scholarship awards were made in October 2025 or at any time after,” he said.
“The documents in circulation are unauthenticated and represent a calculated attempt to misinform the public and discredit government policy.”
According to the minister, the decision to discontinue government-funded bilateral scholarships abroad followed a comprehensive policy review which showed that Nigeria now has sufficient local capacity to run the affected programmes.
“Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics and colleges of education now have the capacity to offer these programmes locally,” he said.
“Consequently, only scholarships fully funded by foreign governments are being supported, with all financial obligations borne by the host countries.”
Despite the policy shift, Alausa reassured students already enrolled under previous arrangements of continued support.
“The Federal Government remains fully committed to all students already enrolled and will continue to support them until the completion of their programmes,” he said.
He added that students who wish to discontinue their studies abroad could return home without hardship.
“Such students may formally write to the Director, Department of Scholarship Awards, and will be seamlessly reintegrated into appropriate tertiary institutions in Nigeria,” the minister said.
“The Federal Government will also cover their return travel costs to ensure a smooth transition.”
Dr Alausa said the reforms were aimed at ending inefficiencies and abuse in the scholarship system.
“Past practices that sponsored overseas training for courses already well established in Nigeria placed avoidable financial burdens on the nation,” he noted.
“Our reforms are designed to promote transparency, accountability and prudent management of public resources.”
He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to the welfare of Nigerian students and warned against misinformation or blackmail capable of undermining policies meant to strengthen national capacity and protect the integrity of the education sector.
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