UK Scraps £45 Million Girls’ Education Programme, Raising Concerns Over Global Aid Priorities

The UK government has cancelled a £45 million international education programme designed to expand higher education opportunities for up to one million women and girls across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The decision, announced just two years after the initiative was launched, has sparked concern among education advocates who fear it could reverse years of progress in promoting gender equality through education.

The programme, known as Strengthening Higher Education for Female Empowerment (SHEFE), was intended to help young women overcome barriers to university education by strengthening partnerships between higher education institutions and improving access to learning opportunities. However, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has withdrawn the project’s tender as part of wider reductions in the country’s overseas aid budget.

The cancellation has drawn criticism from lawmakers, education organisations and development experts, who argue that investing in girls’ education produces long-term social and economic benefits. Research consistently shows that women who complete higher education are less likely to marry as children, experience gender-based violence or remain trapped in poverty. They are also more likely to secure better-paying jobs, support their families and contribute to economic growth. Critics say ending the programme sends the wrong message at a time when millions of girls worldwide still face significant barriers to education.

The decision also comes amid broader changes to the UK’s international development policy. Recent aid reductions have affected education projects in countries including South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe, while tighter student visa restrictions have limited study opportunities for applicants from several conflict-affected countries. The government says the aid cuts are necessary to increase defence spending but insists that programmes protecting women and girls from violence will continue to receive funding.

Beyond the immediate impact on the cancelled programme, the move has reignited a wider debate about the UK’s role in global development. For many observers, education is not simply another aid project but one of the most effective long-term investments a country can make. While governments often face difficult budget choices, critics argue that reducing support for girls’ education risks undermining future opportunities for millions of young women and weakening global efforts to reduce poverty and inequality.