The Problem of Brain Drain and Our Helplessness

What if I tell you that in the last 5 years, around 3400 people renounced their Pakistani nationality. While alarmingly, 1500 have applied and are waiting for their turn. Shocking? Indeed it is for me. Increasing infatuation with overseas’ remittances and monetary help have made us totally oblivious to the increasing brain drain from our country, which is extremely dangerous.

As per Gallup Pakistan, more than two-thirds of Pakistan’s mature population wished to settle abroad. It is in total contrast to Gallup’s 1984 survey that found only 17 percent aspiring to work abroad. As much as 2.765 million people have left Pakistan over the last five years, which is higher even than Egypt. Should we as a nation be happy we it, believing that foreign remittances will eventually increase, or be worried that valuable human resource has departed? I think we should be worried.

Let us examine what causes brain drain in Pakistan and how can we reverse it.

Causes of Brain Drain

Push Factors (the reasons that compel us to leave Pakistan)

• Poor salary and Work Environment

A study conducted in several universities of Karachi suggests that 75% of the students responded that they would prefer working abroad because of poor salary packages and work environment in Pakistan.

• Better job prospects for highly skilled and qualified human resource
• Increasing unemployment ratio
• Unqualified and unskilled supervising qualified and skilled
• Dearth of progressive environment
• Poor living standards
• Dearth of research trends at doctoral and post-doctoral level studies
• Lack of higher education institutes
• Nepotism and cronyism

Pull Factors (the reasons why foreign countries attract us)

• Profusion of research facilities and aptitude
• Handsome salaries and living standard
• Career growth at economic and professional levels
• Socio-economic stability
• Meritocracy
• Career forming opportunities
• Welfare-oriented legislation

Reversing Brain Drain

Previous governments initiated several measures to restore the drained brain which played a substantial role. However, as always happens, following governments did not properly pursue them. The current government seems serious in bringing back the potential; therefore, I would recommend working on all these initiatives before trying others.

Hiring of HEC Funded Scholars

HEC funded doctors and post doctors should be hired in the graduate programs to uplift the research and development sectors.

Engaging Foreign Faculty

Highly qualified faculty members who are working abroad should be engaged on permanent or contract basis to kick off a comprehensive strategy for higher education and align it with global standards.

Reverse Brain Drain Program

In this program, through Pakistan Education and Research Networks (PERN), intellectuals from developed countries were networked for sharing of ideas and knowledge. It produced a cadre of professionals that benefitted several industries in Pakistan. The initiative should be actively pursued.

National Research Program for Universities

Under this program, competent minds were rewarded research grants to foster the culture of conceiving workable ideas and its conversion to practical shape.

President’s Program for Care of Highly Qualified Overseas Pakistanis

This was meant to contact overseas professionals and help capitalize on their intellectual, financial and experiential capital. The government should involve diplomatic missions for contacting such a talent and strategize their consumption in Pakistan with the help of public and private institutions, e.g. OPF, OPC and Association of Overseas Pakistanis.

All these and various others are some of the steps that proved helpful for the country. It is an immediate responsibility of the HEC and federal ministry for higher education to reenergize these and establish special task forces for prompt response.

I owe gratitude to Ms Nadia Sajjad for providing insights into the issues through a research paper Causes and Solutions to Intellectual Brain Drain in Pakistan.