Scholarships and Student Funding in Chad
By Muntasir Minhaz • Published Dec 14, 2025 • African Countries & Cities, African Scholarships & Student Funding
Most funding for students in Chad comes from government bourses paid through CNOU, plus a small set of foreign scholarships from countries like Morocco and France. There's no large national student loan program.
💵 CNOU (Centre National des Œuvres Universitaires) manages state bourses and student welfare services.
🎓 Morocco awarded 150 scholarships to Chadian students in its 2024 edition, split between university and vocational training.
📩 France's embassy and Campus France Tchad run a small annual scholarship track for study in France.
Public tuition stays low, so bourses mostly cover living costs, not tuition.
Apply through your university's scolarité or CNOU office, or the relevant embassy, never a paid agent.
How student funding works in Chad
Chad does not run a large national student loan program comparable to Nigeria's NELFUND or Kenya's HELB. Most funding support flows through government bourses managed by the Centre National des Œuvres Universitaires (CNOU) , plus a smaller set of scholarships from foreign governments and partner institutions.
Because public tuition already stays low, bourses in Chad mostly cover living costs, such as food, transport, and study materials, rather than tuition itself.
Government bourses through CNOU
CNOU manages state bourses for students enrolled at public universities, alongside welfare services like campus restaurants and housing support. CNOU has been moving bourse payments toward bank and mobile transfer, known locally as bancarisation, so recipients receive funds directly into an account rather than collecting cash on campus.
Eligibility and award amounts depend on your academic standing and, in some cases, financial need, decided at the ministry and university level each academic year. Apply through your university's scolarité or CNOU office rather than any third party.
Foreign government scholarships
Morocco
Morocco's National Scholarship Commission, through AMCI (the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation), awarded 150 scholarships to Chadian students for its 2024 edition, split into 100 places for university-level study and 50 for vocational training, according to Alwihda Info . Applications for this track run through the Moroccan embassy in N'Djamena, not through Chadian universities.
France
The French embassy in Chad and Campus France Tchad run a small annual scholarship program for Chadian students admitted to French universities. Places are limited each cycle, so check the Campus France Tchad page early in your application timeline, since eligibility and deadlines change from one academic year to the next.
Other partners
Other embassies and international partners run smaller, discipline-specific scholarship tracks from time to time, usually announced through their own embassy pages rather than through Chadian universities. Treat any scholarship offer that asks for payment before an award as a scam, since legitimate government and embassy scholarships in Chad never charge an application fee.
University-level and merit aid
Some Chadian public universities set aside limited places or reduced fees for top-performing students, decided at the faculty level rather than through a centralized national process. Ask your university's scolarité office directly about merit aid tied to your faculty, since this information rarely appears outside individual university notices.
What bourses typically cover
💵 A monthly or termly stipend for living costs, paid through CNOU.
🏠 Priority or subsidized access to CNOU-run student housing, where available.
Reduced-price meals at CNOU restaurants universitaires on or near campus.
For foreign government scholarships (Morocco, France), tuition and often a living stipend in the host country.
How to apply
Confirm you are enrolled or admitted at a recognized public university before applying for a CNOU bourse.
Submit your bourse request through your university's scolarité or CNOU office, with proof of enrollment and ID documents.
For foreign scholarships, apply directly through the relevant embassy or its official partner site, Campus France Tchad for France or the Moroccan embassy for AMCI scholarships.
Keep copies of every document you submit and note the reference number or receipt CNOU or the embassy gives you.
If your bourse payment is late
Bourse payment delays happen most terms, tied to national budget cycles rather than any error on your part. Contact your university's CNOU liaison or the CNOU office directly for a status update, and keep your bank or mobile money details updated with them, since bancarisation payments fail when account details go out of date.
Budgeting alongside a bourse
Treat your CNOU bourse as a floor, not a full budget. Combine it with family support, part-time work where your program allows it, or a foreign scholarship if you qualify, and prioritize housing and food costs first, since these take the largest share of a typical student's spending in Chad.
Avoiding scholarship scams
Verify any scholarship announcement against the official CNOU, embassy, or Campus France Tchad page before you send documents or money anywhere. Scholarship scams that circulate on social media in Chad, as elsewhere in the region, often copy real program names and ask for an administrative fee that no legitimate funder charges.