The Executive Director, D-Ivy Sixth Form College, Lagos, Dr Oyinlola Ilo, has decried the poor remunerations of teachers, saying the lack of good welfare for educators contributing to brain drain in the sector.
She also raised the alarm over the shortage of professional teachers in the sector, noting that many teachers have moved abroad for greener pastures.
While lamenting the dearth of the teaching profession, Dr. Ilo reiterated that many countries are now searching for teachers to fill the gap in their countries.
“They are looking for teachers, and almost all of our teachers have gone,” a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday quoted her as saying.
Tracing some of the reasons teachers are leaving for overseas jobs, she said, “To start with, what do we pay the teachers? Stipends, even though the exchange rate keeps rising daily. Meanwhile, we all go to the same market. However, unless you get a government job, you can’t really survive the harsh economy.”
The school administrator, who called on the Nigerian government to encourage more students into the teaching profession, said the sector was already lacking teachers.
“Parents do not want to pay for their children’s education, so how are the teachers going to be paid? The teachers have to be paid from the student’s school fees. I don’t think teachers are getting a quarter of what doctors are receiving. Even front-line receptionists earn more than teachers.
She urged the government to encourage teachers by giving incentives. “It is the same market that teachers, doctors, lawyers and other professions are in,” Dr. Ilo added.
She, however, assured stakeholders not to bother themselves about the Nigerian workforce moving overseas in droves, adding that they will definitely return to the country.
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“There is no place like home. For young people, it’s easy for them to leave the country and live abroad. After a while, some will eventually find out that they want to go back to Nigeria because they are not accepted there. It doesn’t matter how intelligent they are.”
“My son is a surgeon. He studied in England. He is one of the topmost surgeons in his establishment, but he is black. There may be a nurse in the hospital that decides to be rude just because you are black and there is nothing you can do about it but return home.
“Or if you need to get the topmost chair in your department and the hospital gives it to your registrar, somebody who is about four levels below you, and they tell you to your face that they have only one chair and cannot give it to a Nigerian. Although you are the one doing the work, you are not the one getting the honour or money. Those are things that make some of our children come back home in spite of the problems in Nigeria.”
She, however, said if Nigerians in the age range of 30, 40, and 50 years are allowed to participate in governance, they would remain in Nigeria.
Decrying the rate at which teachers are moving abroad for greener pastures, Dr Ilo said, ”One of my teachers came to me and said,” I’ve got a job in England, I’m moving.
“There is a Yoruba teacher who used to teach at a primary school in Ikeja and is now at Sheffield University. If you go online and visit American schools and universities, you will see Nigerians teaching Yoruba.
The medical doctor who turned educator said a few years ago, it was difficult for teachers to get a visa to enter the United States, but not so anymore.
“Before it was doctors getting visas, but now European countries are searching for good teachers.”
