Federal Scholarship Board Awards — BEA, Bilateral & Nigerian Scholarship Guide

Federal scholarships — real money most students miss

The Federal Scholarship Board under the Ministry of Education administers Nigeria's federal awards — and every year thousands of eligible students miss them because the windows are short and poorly publicized.

The main award types

Nigerian Award (NA)	For students in Nigerian tertiary institutions — bursary-level support
Bilateral Education Agreement (BEA)	Fully/partially funded scholarships to study abroad (Russia, Hungary, China, Morocco, Egypt and others)
Commonwealth / bilateral schemes	Announced through the board as available

Typical eligibility

Nigerian citizen
For undergraduate BEA: strong WAEC results (usually 5+ distinctions including English & Maths, one sitting)
For postgraduate: minimum Second Class Upper
Age limits apply per scheme (often under 20-23 for undergrad BEA, under 35 for PG)

Also worth watching

PTDF (petroleum scholarship — very prestigious, MSc/PhD), TETFund (for lecturers), state scholarship boards, and private awards (MTN Foundation, NNPC/SEPLAT, Chevron, Shell, Jim Ovia). We post them in Scholarships as they open.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BEA scholarship fully funded?

Depends on the country — some cover tuition + stipend, others partial. Each bilateral agreement differs; the advert spells it out.

Where are scholarship adverts published?

On education.gov.ng, in national dailies, and here — we track every open window in the Scholarships section.