The Democratic Front (TDF) says the decision of the Federal Government to scrap the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship scheme is a well-thought-out one.
By Salif Atojoko
The Democratic Front (TDF) says the decision of the Federal Government to scrap the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship scheme is a well-thought-out one.
This, according to the group, is because of the drain it constituted on the nation’s resources.
Malam Danjuma Muhammad, the Chairman of TDF, in a statement on Saturday, applauded the decision, saying the scholarships were for courses that could be better learnt in the country at a cheaper rate.
“In our considered opinion, this laudable action is long overdue, given the inherent lack of merit and huge economic waste that characterised the BEA scholarship programme.
“Apart from draining a humongous chunk of the nation’s annual education budget, the BEA programme is not known to have established any remarkable legacy of relevance in Nigeria’s educational development since its commencement,” said the group.
It said Dr Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, had revealed that N650 million was recommended for approval for payment to just 60 students in Morocco for 2024 alone.
TDF said this offered a disturbing insight into the type of drainpipe the BEA programme had been on public fund, and a justification of the decision to scrap it.
“We believe that the technical absurdity in operating the BEA scholarship programme, alongside an effective student loan scheme like the NELFUND, should not, and cannot be encouraged or tolerated by a responsible and focused government.
“Also, it is inconceivable that Nigerian students in Russia, Morocco, Algeria, Serbia, Hungary, and Egypt can achieve their full academic potential due to language barriers.
“This is because they are expected to study foreign languages as enshrined in the bilateral agreement with those countries,” said TDF.
It said this was one of the major reasons such students were not able to compete favourably with their counterparts in Nigerian universities at the end of their studies abroad.
“This clearly underscores the inadequacies of the education they acquired from other countries when compared with the Nigerian standard.
“The lack of transparency as well as the delay in the payment of stipends to beneficiaries has also, over the years, created public doubt around the sustainability of the programme; so it is a good thing that the government has opted to scrap it,” continued the group.
It also called on Youths and all university students in the country to utilise the opportunities presented by the President Tinubu administration to advance their quest for quality education. (NAN)