Tahir Mamman: Education sector most affected by ‘japa’ syndrome

Education Minister Tahir Mamman believes this sector has suffered the most from the country’s brain drain.

Mamman spoke on Thursday at the inauguration of the governing boards of federal institutions of higher education in Nigeria.

The minister said the education sector was the worst affected by the “Japa syndrome”, citing a mass exodus of lecturers and teachers seeking a better life abroad.

He added that higher education institutions in the country are struggling with problems, including insufficient infrastructure and funding, insufficient number of research and non-research staff and an unstable academic calendar.

The Minister called on councils to work with other stakeholders to resolve the issues facing university administrations.

“The education sector has suffered the most from the Japa syndrome among all sectors in Nigeria,” he said.

“We have even lost teachers in primary and secondary schools because of this. They have left for Europe and other places.

“We often talk about healthcare personnel. But I can confirm that we have lost more teachers in Nigeria than in any other sector. Especially teachers in higher education institutions.

“It takes at least 15 years for someone to get a Ph.D. So if you lose someone, it’s a very big loss for the country.

“While universities produce graduates with the skills to compete globally, our education sector still faces many challenges.”

There are growing concerns about the relocation of many Nigerian professionals abroad.

In 2022, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) warned of a “total collapse” of the healthcare sector if action was not taken to address the brain drain in the system.

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) in its 2023 report revealed that over 3.6 million Nigerians migrated to other countries in the two years.