Push and Pull Theory, Brain Drain in the Education Sector and Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria

The study influence of the push and pull theory on the education sector and the implications for sustainable development goals in Nigeria. This was prompted by the level of brain drain in the Nigerian education system, especially in tertiary institutions. The study adopted the descriptive survey design. Three research questions guided the study, the population of the study comprised all academic staff in tertiary institutions in Delta State in the South-South and Anambra State in the South-East Geopolitical Zones of Nigeria. The sample size consisted of 400 academic staff selected from one federal and one state universities, one federal and one state polytechnics and one federal and one state colleges of education purposively selected from the two states. The study further adopted the quota sampling and the convenience sampling techniques for the selection of the respondents. 100 respondents were selected from each of the universities selected for the study while 50 respondents were selected from each of the polytechnics and colleges of education used for the study. Thus, 200 university lecturers, 100 polytechnic lecturers, and 100 college of education lecturers respectively were selected for the study. The instrument for data collection was a 32-item, four-point rating scale structured questionnaire titled: Brain Drain, Sustainable Development Goals and Quality Education Related Questionnaire (BDSDGQERQ). The instrument was validated by two experts. The reliability of the instrument was established through a trial test with the split-half method and a consistency value of 0.81 was attained. The researcher administered 400 copies of the instrument to the respondents and 387 (97%) were returned. Descriptive statistics of mean and Standard deviation was used for data analysis. The results revealed among other things that a comparatively very low salary and benefits for staff in tertiary institutions of learning, poor working environment, political instability in Nigeria, excess workload without commensurate financial benefits, government’s insensitivity to the development of education, and lack of government's political will to implement policy on education are some of the factors responsible for brain drain in Nigeria tertiary education. The study recommended that among other things that, addressing the issues of insecurity and political instability, and enhanced funding of the education sector would curb the challenge of brain drain in Nigeria.