Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements they are making to ensure students from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso are able (1) to begin planned studies, or (2) continue to be able to study, in the UK following the coups in those nations.

Despite ongoing political instability, we continue to award Chevening scholarships to successful candidates from Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to study for post graduate degrees in the UK. For the academic year 2023-2024 we have two scholars from Niger and two from Mali. All scholars receive support with their visa applications and travel arrangements from the Chevening Secretariat.

The UK also continues to provide support for education in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso through the Education Cannot Wait Fund, a multilateral fund which supports the provision of education interventions targeting children in emergencies, and through Global Partnership for Education which supports the transformation of education systems globally, including in Burkina Faso and Mali.