Determinants Of Brain Drain In Nigerian Universities: Implications For Personnel Policy

ABSTRACT

Universities are no doubt the repository of expertise in various professional fields. Furthermore, high level human resources in any modern economy is a product of universities or similar tertiary level institutions. Yet, there is a general belief in Nigeria that the academics who are responsible for the production of these high level human resources suffer absolute and relative deprivation vis-a-vis their counterparts in the other sectors or countries where conditions are comparatively better. Thus, this present study investigated the factors that are associated with brain drain in Nigerian universities. Ten hypotheses were formulated for the study. The first four hypotheses were concerned with determining the differences in the perception of income, non- salary conditions of service, area of expertise and individual value system as significant factors in brain drain between academics who have remained and those who have left the university system. The fifth hypothesis was concerned with the ranking of the various individual values by the two groups of academics while the other five tested the relationship between brain drain and respondents biographical characteristics.