Talent export: A lousy deal!
When a talented group leaves a country, we call it brain drain. And when they stay in a country, we call it brain gain. In the last few decades in Bangladesh, it has become a cultural norm for parents to wish to send their children abroad for higher studies with a plan to migrate. Talent export is not just a loss of talent; it is a loss of hope for a nation.
When cheap labour exits the country, the short-term boon in lower unemployment comes at a much higher price in the long run. I am fortunate enough to engage with people from different groups like schools, colleges, universities, corporations, and various professional fields. Disappointingly, almost all their children are either studying or working abroad or planning to leave the country for a better future.
According to a study by the World Economic Forum in 2017, a staggering 82 percent of people aged 15-29 in Bangladesh expressed a desire to emigrate from the country. Among the 173 countries ranked by the World Bank, Bangladesh holds the 31st position in brain drain.
Studying abroad is costly, but that does not seem to deter the trend. Those who cannot afford it remain behind, hoping to gain eligibility to migrate after some work experience. If we try to collect data from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, medical colleges, professional bodies like CMA, CA, etc., we will find that many have already migrated, with the trend only growing with each passing year.
There is another social angle that has significantly contributed to this growing trend. Often, our females prefer to settle abroad to avoid a life dependent on domestic aid and a restricted socio-environment, and perhaps also to stay away from their in-laws! I personally know a few in Bangladesh with outstanding career potentials who are being forced to migrate because of their spouses. Similar trends were observed in my research on dwindling family businesses.
When talents from the affluent group migrate, the country not only loses the wealth of talent but also the worth of their inherited property through money laundering. This group adds very little, if at all, to the economic development of Bangladesh. However, the brain drains from the middle-class background send back some money to their not-so-rich parents. This forces Bangladesh to import mediocre talent from neighbouring countries at more than $6 billion annually.
Cheap labour that we export is our most underrated treasure trove, for they contribute immensely to the exchequer and return home too. Foreign remittance in Bangladesh was $21.5 billion in 2022 alone.
Talent export also deprives Bangladesh of plausible innovation of new products. A simple example is the cost comparison of launching our satellite with that of India. The total cost of Chandrayaan-3, India's satellite that was sent to the moon, was Rs 615 crore while the cost of the satellite launched by Bangladesh was Tk 2,765 crore.
Brain drains occur only when a country fails to offer living conditions that are not at par with others. A better law and order situation, eradication of corruption, and improving infrastructure like providing a world-class education system are some of the long-term measures that would undoubtedly result in retaining our talents. Attracting foreign investment, promoting entrepreneurship, creating more job opportunities are vital to controlling the brain drain. Our regulators are reluctant to allow reputed universities from countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Canada and Australia to operate here but are indifferent to students fleeing abroad for a better education and future.
The author is founder and managing director of BuildCon Consultancies Ltd.