A university don has identified brain drain as one of the greatest challenges militating against Africa’s development.
In a lecture in Abuja titled “Creating and Sustaining a Qualitative Pool of Education Sector Professionals-Solution Options”, Prof. Musa Aibinu said about 23,000 lecturers emigrate from Africa to other climes yearly.
Prof Aibinu, who is the Director of the Centre for Open, Distance and e-learning, Federal University of Technology, Minna, said “some go for further studies and end up not coming back; some go for greener pastures; others run away from the unfavourable condition we have here.”
He also blamed infrastructural decay as one other reason the lecturers go abroad.
The don called on African governments to improve the working conditions of lecturers in order to retain quality professionals in our educational system.
According to him, “Lecturing has three components-lecturing, research and community service; the funding of research here is very low though TETFund is trying but we are still far below.”
Prof. Aibinu advocated a universal salary scheme across board in the country, saying that teachers go to the same market as telecom and oil and gas workers. (NAN)
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