Mirian Gom 
ABUJA, Nigeria – Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, has explained that the Federal Government discontinued its foreign postgraduate scholarship programme because it was no longer cost-effective, stressing that the Tinubu administration would not continue spending public funds on programmes that do not deliver value.
Speaking in Abuja during the unveiling of the ₦365 million National Merit Prize, Alausa said students sponsored under the scheme were sent to Morocco to study postgraduate courses in disciplines including media, education, genealogy and psychology. According to him, the structure of the programme made it increasingly expensive to sustain.
“We must be willing to manage government resources responsibly, and this President will not waste any form of public funds,” Alausa said. “We will continue to support postgraduate education, but we will not be spending money in the way we were spending it before.”
The minister explained that beneficiaries were required to spend their first-year learning French before beginning their academic programmes, while the government also provided substantial annual financial support, making the programme financially unsustainable.
Despite ending the overseas scholarship scheme, Alausa said the Federal Government remains committed to postgraduate education and research. He noted that support would continue through more efficient and sustainable funding models capable of benefiting more Nigerian students.
The minister said the policy aligns with the government’s broader strategy to strengthen Nigeria’s research ecosystem through initiatives such as the newly launched ₦365 million National Merit Prize, which is designed to reward outstanding undergraduate, master’s and doctoral research with strong commercial, industrial and national development potential.
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Otamere Gladness 
Korede Abdullah 
