Brain drain is the migration of highly-trained or qualified personnel in search of the better standard of living and quality of life, higher salaries, access to advanced technology and many more. Brain drain is not necessarily a loss for the sending country. Brain drain can contribute to the development of the home countries through brain circulation and linkage.
Even if the highly-skilled professionals from the developing countries decide not to return from the host countries, they can still contribute to the social and economic development of their home countries.
There is no denying our country has given wings to our students integrating prudent policies paving the ways for migration. Without knowing and exploring the world, we cannot determine our position and find out our limitations. We expect our students to leave the nest to acquire further knowledge from the best ideas and practices out there. At the same time, we must fix our nests in a way that attracts them to come back and serve their homeland.
Bangladesh has long been facing
a shortage of trained manpower,
especially in critical areas like
healthcare and engineering and
higher education
Bangladesh has long been facing a shortage of trained manpower, especially in critical areas like healthcare and engineering and higher education. Every year, a large number of trained personnel emigrate for higher education and jobs.
Experts are of the opinion that developed countries like Australia, Canada, USA and UK are taking away our meritorious students, offering them opportunities for higher education with attractive job packages.
As a single destination, the United States gave study permits to 8,598 Bangladeshis in the 2020-21 academic year, more than three times since 2009, according to the 2021 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. To add an impetus to the trend, US scholarships for Bangladeshi students are set to double in number this year, says the Foreign Admission and Career Development Consultations Association of Bangladesh (FACD-CAB).
For developing countries like Bangladesh, the loss of human capital is a serious issue. Those who go abroad to pursue higher education, should be motivated to come back and serve their own country. Implementing more creative policy can be the way to prevent migration of trained manpower.