Nigerian students studying abroad under the Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) scholarship are facing a deepening crisis as the federal government continues to delay and drastically slash their stipends, leaving many stranded, starving, and battling severe mental and physical distress.
The Union of Nigerian Bilateral Education Agreement Scholars (UNBEAS) has sounded the alarm, calling on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to take immediate action. Scholars in Russia, China, Morocco, Hungary, Algeria, and Venezuela have recounted harrowing experiences of hunger, homelessness, and financial ruin as a result of the government’s failure to disburse funds.
In an exclusive interview with SaharaReporters, some affected students lamented their worsening situation.
“We scholars on the BEA scheme are seriously suffering. Some Nigerian students have been caught shoplifting just to survive, while one student had to be rushed to the hospital in December due to severe depression and other health complications after struggling to afford basic necessities,” one scholar revealed.
The crisis has been particularly brutal in Hungary, where students face stringent immigration laws that prevent them from taking side jobs to supplement their income.
“For us in Hungary, it’s even worse. We cannot legally work due to immigration restrictions, and our academic workload is overwhelming. The lack of stipends has left many of us hopeless,” another student shared.
Since January 2025, BEA scholars have not received any stipend payments. Those who have been in the programme since 2023 report experiencing months of unpaid or underpaid stipends, making their financial situation increasingly dire.
In a statement issued on March 7, signed by the UNBEAS leadership and obtained by SaharaReporters, the scholars detailed the worsening pattern of stipend disbursements.
“For years, scholars have endured inconsistent payments, but the situation became catastrophic in 2023 when stipend disbursements became erratic,” the statement read.
Payments were made from January to August 2023, but severe exchange rate fluctuations caused significant shortfalls. By September 2023, the stipends stopped entirely, leaving students financially stranded. After over a year of uncertainty, the Nigerian government finally resumed payments in September 2024—but with a devastating 56% reduction.
“Rather than settling the backlog, the government shockingly slashed our stipends from $500 to just $220. Worse still, many scholars were only informed of this at the time of payment,” the statement continued.
The justification for the reduction? Government officials in Nigeria claimed that senior civil servants do not earn as much under the current exchange rate—an argument scholars have condemned as “absurd and inhumane,” given that they are living abroad with significantly higher costs of living.
The consequences of this policy have been devastating. In Morocco, where government accommodation is unavailable, scholars have been evicted from their apartments.
In Russia, Algeria, China, Venezuela, and Hungary, students report going days without food, while others have fallen ill but cannot afford medical care.
The psychological toll has been equally severe, with many battling depression, anxiety, and an inability to focus on their studies due to overwhelming financial distress.
To make matters worse, the Federal Scholarship Board (FSB) has now informed scholars that their next stipend payments will not be available until mid-2025—between June and July.
Even then, there are no assurances that the arrears from 2023 or the full entitlements for 2024 will ever be paid.
Desperate Plea for Intervention
In their statement, UNBEAS passionately appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the National Assembly, and relevant government agencies to intervene immediately.
The scholars are demanding:
Immediate payment of all outstanding stipends from September to December 2023.
Restoration of the original $500 stipend, as the current $220 amount is grossly inadequate.
Timely payments in 2025 to prevent further suffering.
Beyond government action, they are calling on the media, civil society organizations, and concerned Nigerians to amplify their plight.
“We do not want to protest, and we do not want to beg. But we are pleading for survival. Without urgent action, more students will lose their education, their health, and possibly their lives to hunger and despair,” the statement concluded.
As the Tinubu government remains silent, the fate of these scholars hangs in the balance. Will their voices be heard before it is too late?
PIONEER NEWS 