Parents of Students Studying Abroad Protest Over 16 Months Unpaid Allowances
Parents of Nigerian students studying abroad under the Federal Government’s Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA) Scholarship Programme on Monday staged a peaceful protest at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja, demanding the release of their children’s outstanding living allowances.
The aggrieved parents said the government has failed to pay 16 months’ worth of stipends, leaving many of the scholars stranded across various countries and struggling to cope with accommodation, feeding, transportation, and academic expenses.
The protesters, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, accused the government of neglecting the welfare of the students who were sent out as official representatives of Nigeria through the BEA scheme.
According to the parents, several students are currently facing harsh living conditions, with some allegedly threatened with eviction by their host institutions and landlords due to accumulated unpaid bills.
Others are reported to be unable to access basic necessities, forcing them to rely on friends, charity, or part-time work despite strict academic demands.
One of the parents who spoke during the protest said the situation has reached a breaking point:
“Our children are suffering. They are stranded in foreign countries because the government has refused to pay what is due to them. We can no longer keep quiet.”
The parents called on the Minister of Finance, the Ministry of Education, and the Federal Scholarship Board to urgently intervene and release the backlog of allowances before the students’ academic progress is jeopardized.
They also appealed to President Bola Tinubu to wade into the matter and ensure that the BEA programme a long-standing scholarship initiative intended to foster international educational exchange is not allowed to collapse due to administrative neglect.
Officials of the ministry were said to have acknowledged receipt of the parents’ petition, promising to escalate the matter to the appropriate authorities.
The protest comes amid growing public criticism over delays in government-sponsored scholarship payments and concerns about Nigeria’s commitment to supporting its scholars abroad.
