Brain Drain in Pakistan

Brain drain is a common phenomenon. The migration of intellectual manpower from developing nations to more developed countries is known as Brain Drain. Developed nations attract qualified skilled workers in the form of incentives, scholarships, and a better living lifestyle. The developing countries mostly consist of South and South East Asia including, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.

Unfortunately,  is a developing country that is confronted with the great loss of highly skilled workers to green pastures and for compensation. Last year, around 600,000 left the country in search of better opportunities in another country. It’s a worrying sign for the country, after investing so much in the youth in terms of their education, who are now preferring to settle abroad instead of serving their home country. Let’s look at some of the major reasons why the Pakistani people are so eager to leave their homeland to settle abroad:

• For better Jobs

One of the main reasons for the mass exodus of talent in Pakistan is that more developed nations offer better job opportunities than the ones we currently have in Pakistan. Individuals who are being paid less for the skills they possess are suddenly offered much higher wages in foreign countries which attracts them and they choose to immigrate.

• Economic Progression

Let’s face it, Pakistan’s economy is not that great. The constant political turmoil hasn’t helped matters either. With so much uncertainty, when allowed to settle in a country where its economy is always booming, it’s hard not to be enticed to leave their homeland.

• Academically Sound Environment

Higher education in Pakistan is outdated, there is no denying it. Not to generalize, but every year thousands of Ph.D. candidates get their Doctorate approved by submitting a plagiarized thesis. Lack of originality means millions of Pakistani students are disillusioned by the higher education structure of Pakistan. In more developed nations, every university is spending millions of dollars on original research and they have the proper resources to conduct research.

• High Standards of Living

Developed countries have the added advantage of having certain standards of living which can never be replicated in a third-world country like Pakistan. The better living standard encourages mass brain drain as people tend to go to places where there is better societal democracy, academic excellence, and better chances of upward mobility.

• Lack of Merit

Merit is not respected in Pakistan. When jobs are given from whom you know instead of what you know, then naturally, the young Pakistani generation will feel disillusioned. So instead of getting a low-paid job, which doesn’t do justice to their skillset, they choose to settle abroad where merit is encouraged and they get the job that suits their skill set.