Recruitment of teachers in Guinea: “You cannot hold two positions at the same time”, recalls Souleymane Bachir Diagne

The Senegalese philosopher and academic Souleymane Bachir Diagne called for strict compliance with the rules governing academic mobility, following the controversy arising from the recruitment of Senegalese teachers by the Republic of Guinea.

Guest of the program Point de Vue on the Senegalese Radio Broadcasting Television (RTS), Mr. Diagne recalled a fundamental principle of the academic world: “You cannot hold two positions at the same time”, insisting on the need to clarify the status of the teachers concerned and the modalities of their intervention abroad.
According to him, the debate should not be reduced to an emotional reading or to the idea of ​​a supposed brain drain. “It is not very easy to see Senegalese academics deciding to go into exile or to settle permanently in Guinea,” he underlined, calling for going beyond “sensationalist readings”.
For Souleymane Bachir Diagne, the central question remains that of the legal and institutional framework. He considers it legitimate for the Senegalese authorities to seek to know “in what framework Senegalese teachers intervene in a brother country and what happens to their workload in Senegal”.
While recognizing that academic mobility can constitute an asset for African universities, the academic pleaded for it to be supervised, regulated and backed by clear agreements, so as not to weaken the original establishments.