The students of Pakistan are known for their extraordinary achievements in the field of academics. Doctors, engineers and IT professionals of exceptional quality have been produced in Pakistan. The students perform very well in their practical lives. But the question is why we don’t see them working in our hospitals, industries and business organizations? Where do these extraordinary brains vanish? The answer is that our country is suffering from the phenomena of brain drain. This is because our best student lot is captured by the western countries like UK and USA. The need of the hour is that we should try to stop this costly brain drain or at least take measures to minimise the loss.
But before we come up with some suggestions to stop this brain drain, we need to look at some of the reasons behind this phenomenon. Firstly, the level of higher education in our country is not up to the international standards. Therefore, students go abroad for higher studies and eventually end up being absorbed into the lucrative foreign market. Secondly, students who do come back and want to work do not get the kind of remuneration which they think can be easily earned abroad. This discourages them and they leave their country. Thirdly, there is lack of motivation among the students to work in their homeland on lesser salaries. The reason is the lack of patriotic feelings and tilt towards material gains. Fourthly, the qualification which the students earn from abroad have little application in their home country as they are designed to fulfill the requirements of the country from where they have studied.
Lastly, the higher living standards and freeway living style attracts the students as they want to enjoy their life to the fullest. According to a report in The Observer, London, “Pakistan is facing a massive brain drain as record numbers of people.
ADNAN AHMED BARCHA
Karachi
