The British government has abruptly terminated a flagship international education program designed to support one million girls and women in completing their schooling across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The initiative, known as Strengthening Higher Education for Female Empowerment (SHEFE), was launched with considerable publicity by the previous Conservative administration in 2022. It allocated a £45 million budget to expand higher education access for female students in developing nations, but the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has now confirmed that the tender for the program has been withdrawn, effectively ending it after only two years of operation.
The cancellation comes amid ongoing fiscal tightening within the UK's overseas aid budget, which has been reduced from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income since 2021. SHEFE was intended to address a critical bottleneck: while primary school enrollment for girls has improved globally, secondary and tertiary education retention rates remain alarmingly low in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Experts note that the program’s closure disrupts partnerships already forged with universities and NGOs in countries such as Kenya, Bangladesh, and Jordan, where local institutions had begun developing scholarship pathways and mentorship networks under the scheme.
This decision reflects broader shifts in UK foreign policy priorities, where aid spending is increasingly tied to diplomatic and trade objectives rather than purely developmental goals. Critics argue that axing a program focused on female education—widely recognized as one of the most effective investments for economic growth and poverty reduction—undermines the UK's stated commitment to gender equality on the global stage. Data from organizations like UNESCO consistently show that each additional year of schooling for a girl can increase her future earnings by up to 20%, while also reducing child marriage rates and improving maternal health outcomes.
The SHEFE initiative was distinct from other UK aid programs because it specifically targeted the transition from secondary to higher education, a stage where female dropout rates spike due to financial barriers, cultural norms, and safety concerns. By withdrawing the tender, the FCDO has left many partner institutions in limbo, with some having already hired staff and enrolled students based on promised funding. The government has not indicated whether alternative support mechanisms will be introduced, leaving a significant gap in the global effort to educate women and girls in underserved communities. Without this intervention, the UN's Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all by 2030 faces yet another setback.