Burkina: studying abroad will now require state authorization.
Burkina Faso now requires prior authorization from any student wishing to pursue their studies abroad, even if they are self-funding their education. Presented as a measure for monitoring educational paths and professional integration, this decision by the Traoré government marks an unprecedented tightening of control over student mobility.
SUMMARY
The Burkinabè Council of Ministers on June 25, 2026, chaired by the head of state, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, adopted a decree requiring every Burkinabè student wishing to study abroad, whether on a state scholarship or self-funded, to obtain prior authorization from the ministry responsible for higher education, according to the Burkina Information Agency (AIB).
The decree represents a revision of the scholarship regime for higher education and research established in 2021. The minister in charge of higher education, Adjima Thiombiano, presented the measure following the Council, stating it aims to “allow the state to monitor training contents in accordance with the current government vision, to avoid social cases after studies abroad, and to prepare the professional integration of these students.” The text applies indiscriminately to students benefiting from a state scholarship and those financing their studies privately.
The practical modalities for granting this authorization – processing times, criteria for evaluating targeted fields and institutions, appeal processes in case of refusal – were not specified during the Council of Ministers’ communication. The AIB did not indicate whether the decree would take effect immediately or from a later date.
An extended control over all students, including self-funding ones
The extension of the authorization requirement to students self-funding their studies is the main novelty of the text compared to the previous framework, which mainly regulated the state scholarship system. The Burkinabè government has not specified the criteria it will rely on to grant or deny authorization to a student traveling privately.
This measure is part of a context of successive reforms in the Burkinabè higher education sector since the junta came to power in September 2022. In May 2026, the ministry announced a one-year moratorium on the application of new academic exclusion rules after finding that 10.35% of students registered on the CampusFaso platform had received a zero across all their teaching units in the first semester of 2025-2026.
Burkina Faso has not had a Parliament since the dissolution of the National Assembly by the junta. Decrees from the Council of Ministers have the force of law without parliamentary oversight. Burkina Faso has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Article 12 guarantees the freedom of movement of people.
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