ABUJA — The Federal Government has stopped funding foreign scholarships that it considers unproductive and will channel the money into Nigerian tertiary institutions instead. The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, announced this on Wednesday in Abuja while unveiling the Tertiary Institutions National Laureate Prize. Alausa gave the example of the Bilateral Education Agreement scheme, under which N650 million was spent in one year to sponsor 150 students in Morocco, who spent their first year learning French. He also cited students sent to Algeria to study English and to Morocco to study journalism and psychology, courses he said are readily available in Nigeria. The minister clarified that scholarships funded by foreign governments themselves can continue. The new National Laureate Prize covers six thematic areas and is open to universities, polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges of education. Selection will take place at institutional, zonal and national levels, with digital checks to detect plagiarism. The ministry said the prize is meant to reward excellence and research that addresses national needs.