Gom Mirian
In a bid to address the rising issue of brain drain in Nigeria, the Federal Government (FG) has announced plans to seek a partnership with British universities to compel sponsored scholars to return home after completing their studies abroad.
Arc. Sonny Echono also highlighted the need for capacity building and strengthening of Nigeria’s higher education.
The announcement was made by the executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono, during a meeting with a delegation of British universities’ Vice-Chancellors in Abuja on Monday.
Arc. Sonny Echono expressed the FG’s concern over the current trend of Nigerian scholars who are sponsored by the government to study abroad, only to remain overseas after completing their education. He said this not only impacts the development of the country but also poses a significant loss of investment in the scholars’ education.
“The government has invested heavily in the education of these scholars, and it is disheartening to see many of them choose to stay abroad after their studies. Our goal is to foster collaboration with British universities to create a mechanism that encourages the return of these scholars to Nigeria,” said Echono.
He continued, “And these are things that we were looking at institutional ways of doing that. For example, where we see that partnerships already exist between our institutions and those abroad, they can share this period of training, for example, to ensure that they complete their training back home. These are some of the solutions that we are looking at in these engagements that we have.”
During the meeting, Sir Steven Murray Smith, the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Exeter, who led the British university’s Vice-Chancellor’s delegation, expressed their willingness to engage in such a partnership as they understand the importance of retaining highly skilled individuals in their home countries.
“We understand the concerns of the Nigerian government, and we share the vision of providing quality education to talented individuals. By working together, we can create opportunities for these scholars to contribute to the progress of Nigeria while furthering their academic careers,” said Smith.
