Friday, November 7, 2025 - The House of Representatives committee on University Education has expressed concern over what it described as a continuous exodus of academic and non-teaching staff from Nigeria’s universities, warning that the trend poses a major threat to the stability and quality of higher education in the country.
Abubakar Fulata, Chairman of the Committee raised the alarm
on Thursday during an oversight visit to federal and state-owned universities
in the South-East. He noted that while institutions continue to lose personnel,
there have been no corresponding recruitment exercises to fill the growing
number of vacancies.
Fulata cited the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), as an
example of the crisis, disclosing that authorities at the institution confirmed
that over 3,000 teaching and non-teaching staff had exited the system since
2019 through retirement or death, yet no replacements have been approved to
fill the resulting vacancies.
“It is abnormal and dangerous for the university system to
keep losing lecturers and non-academic staff through retirement or other causes
without making provisions for replacements,” Fulata said.
“It is equally unhealthy for the system to have about 3,000
people leave and be granted approval to recruit only 500. This imbalance
undermines academic continuity and institutional capacity,” he added.
The lawmaker urged the Federal Ministry of Education,
university governing councils, and relevant agencies to urgently address the
widening manpower gap, stressing that sustained vacancies in academic and
administrative positions would further erode the quality of education in the
country.
He also called on universities to ensure full compliance
with the federal character principle in recruitment and appointments, noting
that many institutions have failed to reflect national diversity in their
staffing composition.
Fulata assured that the committee would continue to engage
relevant stakeholders to strengthen university education and stem the tide of
talent loss in Nigeria’s academic system.
Nigeria’s university system has been under mounting strain,
as years of underinvestment, policy inconsistency, and recurring labour crises
have eroded its capacity to retain skilled personnel.
Many lecturers and researchers have left the country in
search of better pay and working conditions abroad, amid worsening economic
conditions and declining public funding.
According to education experts, the mass departure of
university staff, part of a broader “brain drain” affecting Nigeria’s health
and education sectors—has created a widening gap in teaching, research, and
administration.
0 Comments