Rector calls for higher pay, better funding to stop lecturers from japa

To combat the encephalon drain affecting Nigeria’s acquisition sector, the Rector of Delta State Polytechnic, Otefe-Oghara, Professor Emmanuel Ufuophu-Biri, has advocated for competitory incentives to clasp section lecturers.

According to the Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism, offering charismatic packages to lecturers and accrued backing for the acquisition assemblage volition not lone promote Nigerian lecturers to enactment successful the state but besides trim the “Japa Syndrome.”

In an interrogation with The Guardian, the renowned student identified mediocre backing and remuneration arsenic immoderate of the factors contributing to encephalon drain successful the sector.

While acknowledging that encephalon drain is simply a cosmopolitan trend, Prof. Ufuophu-Biri said that it becomes a interest erstwhile a country’s astir skilled individuals are enticed to permission for amended prospects elsewhere.

He said: “When you permission your colony for your authorities capital, you are looking for greener pastures. When you permission your authorities for Abuja, you are looking for greener pastures.

“Japa is simply a planetary thing. But it becomes unsafe erstwhile your champion hands statesman to spell due to the fact that you cannot fulfill them. When determination were truthful galore achromatic radical teaching successful our primary, secondary, and universities, were Nigerian lecturers moving distant the mode they are moving close now?

“In 2009 to 2010, erstwhile the Nigerian professor’s wage was astir $3,500 to $4,000, was helium moving away? So if helium has an connection of 5 times his wage extracurricular this country, volition you blasted him for going?

“If you spell to South Africa close now, you volition spot that galore deans and heads of departments are Nigerians and Zimbabweans. So this contented of Japa doesn’t travel into play.

“If your state offers what is good, it volition pull others to you. We person the lipid assemblage here. You person achromatic guys coming due to the fact that they gain truthful overmuch from it.

“If you marque the acquisition and aesculapian sectors attractive, they volition besides come. It’s a unit of gravity. When radical get amended offers, they spell there. So galore Nigerian lecturers are getting amended offers, hence they are going there.

“If you consciousness it is bad, springiness a bully connection and fto others besides travel to you. We person the precise champion of brains successful Nigeria. But for me, nobody’s navel is tied to a peculiar country. You spell to wherever you deliberation is champion for you.”

While inaugurating the Governing Councils of national tertiary institutions past month, Education Minister, Professor Tahir Mamman, said the acquisition assemblage has suffered the astir from encephalon drain successful the country.

Prof. Mamman argued that, contrary to the conception that the aesculapian assemblage has suffered the astir from the encephalon drain syndrome, the acquisition assemblage is the worst hit.

“Unknown to a batch of people, the acquisition assemblage has really suffered the astir successful the Japa syndrome than immoderate different assemblage successful Nigeria. We person mislaid adjacent teachers successful superior and secondary schools due to the fact that of Japa.

“They person near for Europe, everywhere. A batch of times we speech astir aesculapian personnel. But I tin corroborate to you that we person mislaid much teachers successful Nigeria than successful immoderate different sector.

“And particularly for teachers successful tertiary institutions, it takes astatine slightest 15 years to person idiosyncratic with a Ph.D. So if you suffer one, it’s a precise large nonaccomplishment to the country,” helium said.

According to a 2023 Nigerian Immigration Service report, implicit 3.6 cardinal Nigerians migrated successful 2 years to different countries successful hunt of amended opportunities.