Gambiaj.com – (OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina-Faso) – The military-led government of Burkina Faso has adopted a new decree requiring all Burkinabè students wishing to pursue studies abroad to obtain prior authorization from the Ministry of Higher Education, in a move authorities say is aimed at aligning overseas training with national priorities.
The decree was approved on Thursday during a meeting of the Council of Ministers and applies to students studying abroad on government scholarships as well as those financing their education through personal means.
According to a government statement, Higher Education Minister Adjima Thiombiano said the measure would enable the state to monitor academic programs undertaken by Burkinabè students overseas in line with the government’s current vision.
He added that the policy is intended to prevent social challenges faced by graduates returning from abroad and to facilitate their professional integration into the country’s workforce.
The decision comes as Burkina Faso, ruled by Captain Ibrahim Traoré since a September 2022 coup, continues to pursue a strongly nationalist agenda. The junta has adopted an increasingly assertive stance toward Western countries and has faced criticism from rights groups over restrictions on dissent and political freedoms.
Thousands of Burkinabè students currently study outside the country. According to Campus France, France hosted around 2,500 Burkinabè students in 2022. However, access to foreign education became more difficult in 2023 when France suspended visa issuance in Ouagadougou amid growing diplomatic tensions with Burkina Faso.
The visa restrictions also affected students from Mali and Niger, two countries governed by military juntas allied with Burkina Faso within the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
The latest decree follows another controversial education-related measure introduced in May 2025, which established mandatory “patriotic immersion” training for students who pass the national baccalaureate examination.
Approximately 60,000 new graduates were required to undergo a month-long program designed to foster patriotism and prepare young people to defend their country, which has been battling a deadly jihadist insurgency for more than a decade. Participation in the program is now a prerequisite for enrollment in Burkina Faso’s universities.
The new regulations underscore the government’s growing effort to shape education and youth development in accordance with its broader political and ideological objectives.
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