<p dir=”auto”>It is almost impossible to halt the trend of teachers leaving Nigeria for greener pastures abroad. Notably, those who succeed in leaving are usually the ones who have deliberately self-improved to meet international professional standards. Nigeria’s national education system has not been designed to develop educators who fit the neoliberal model of teaching that dominates much of the Western world. In practice, only teachers who work in high-quality international schools tend to stand a realistic chance of making that transition.</p>
<p dir=”auto”>Looking to Western policies for inspiration may help raise the overall quality of our education system. However, such improvements will achieve little if they do not prioritise educators’ professionalism and welfare. Policy borrowing that fails to improve teachers’ conditions of service risks uprooting the very national educational identities it seeks to strengthen.</p>