Going abroad for higher education with the goal to return and serve the country can only be made possible if we provide equal opportunities and uphold merit
GEOGRAPHICAL boundaries have never restricted cross-border movement in terms of dissemination of information or intellect. Thanks to the Internet, you can apply sitting in one country for a job in another at the other end of the world. The economic conditions and sociological situation prevalent in any country determine the inflow or outflow of intellect. Pakistan has largely been loosing its professionals to the Developed World for years with skilled labour preferring to work for the developed countries owing to better remuneration and good economic and social systems. Back in Pakistan, the government is satisfied with the foreign exchange the country earns through these skilled and professional people.
It suits the Developed World to get our engineers and doctors and train them to their system, awarding citizenships to them and thus reaping the fruits of their expertise at a much less cost than what they would have to spend in training their own work force. According to McKinsey & Co, an economic research firm, only the Indian engineers living in the United States have contributed around $500 million in social security taxes, besides spending $1.8 billion annually.
After 9/11, the world has definitely changed for Muslims, in particular. The bright side of the picture is that many expatriates have now realized that living in another country will never give them the respect that local citizens command. Thus, the situation has now warranted many Pakistani professionals to come back and work in their own country.
Nasir Afridi was studying at the George Washington University in the US. He was doing Masters in Engineering Management and was residing in Washington. After returning to Pakistan, he is now working in a software export board and drawing good pay. Two other fellow students of his have also returned.
Mustafa is a mechanical engineer who did his Masters in Business Administration from the US and is living in New York for the last 10 years. He is married with two kids. Before 9/11, he never thought of coming back to Pakistan. But now he is of the opinion that it’s not the same America anymore.
The local banking and finance sector hiring foreign-qualified experts at elaborate pay structures has benefited with brain gain. Adil, an American national, went to the US at the age of three with his father who was transferred to the New York branch of the National Bank of Pakistan. He was present in the Lehman Brothers office across the road when the planes struck the Twin Towers in Manhattan, and was among the few fortunate people who managed to reach home safely that day. He was deeply saddened by the incident, but was surprised to feel a change in his colleagues’ attitudes towards him as a Muslim. Shortly afterwards, he decided to return to Pakistan.
Do we, as a nation, have the capability to retain what we train in terms of professionals such as doctors, engineers and managers? Going abroad for higher education with the goal to return and serve the country can only be made possible if we provide equal opportunities and uphold merit.
The most recent issue of Newsweek dated March 8, 2004, has published a special report on brain gain. It states: “Traditionally, such footloose talent has been seen as a liability — so many beautiful minds flushed down the brain drain. But the concept is changing. Now many experts speak not of brain drain but the brain gain.”
Andrew Simpson, a senior adviser to the Ludwig Institute in New York is a British scientist who has worked in Brazil and Africa. He says, “People who left their country to work abroad, if they maintain contact, can be a huge advantage to any nation.” Anna Lee Saxenian, dean of the School of Information Management Systems at the University of California, Berkeley, and an expert in Silicon Valley Demographics, believes: “Foreign-based entrepreneurs are now Asia’s ambassadors at large.” It was revealed during a study that almost 82 per cent of Silicon Valley expatriates swap technology and information with colleagues back home on a regular basis. Around 18pc expatriates also invest in start-ups and venture funds in their native countries.
When does Pakistan start attracting back its best and brightest working abroad? Another question in everybody’s mind these days is: “Are we, as a nation, capable of retaining the brain we have luckily gained back?
