Brain Drain Problem, Causes & Solutions (Brain Drain Essay)
How does one measure the success or failure of a state? Apart from normal criteria like literacy growth rate, foreign reserves and stock market situation, surely one yardstick is the number of citizen who want to live in a country by choice. If we apply this criterion to Pakistan, we find that given half a chance, people would vote with their feet. Endless queues outside the consulates of European and Middle East countries reflect that nobody wants to live in Pakistan, except the privileged class and even they keep a bungalow or a flat overseas. We do face many kinds of problems, some are same wherever we are and whatever we are about some do vary as do our status.
Problem of Brain Drain in Pakistan
We observe lot of irregularities in our routine life. We have to face bribery, corruption, human rights violations, insecurity, injustice, misuse of power even lack of traffic sense and so on. We cannot get our rights without bribery. People have to pay bribery even for their genuine demands. The truth is, Pakistan has failed almost all those who only wanted to put in an honest day’s work, those who had ideas even a vision about what needed to be done. For those not born with the gold spoon, there was always an unfair playing field. In Pakistan jobs are given more on the basis of incompetence than otherwise and if you are not qualified, you will succeed.
The problem with the Pakistan is, there is no returns if people pay taxes. Instead of facilities they get notices and unfair demands from tax department, if they go to any department they have to pay bribery to get connection of gas, telephone, water and electricity, to report about car/bike lifting or theft/dacoity and so on. Ethnic and sectarian terrorism have taken a heavy toll on public confidence and every government have been unsuccessful in stopping the armed gangs that are destabilizing the country. Government has failed to deliver.
There is no one to question the morality or legality of thousands of decisions taken day after day, because the state has failed to lay down the basics and ensure the fundamentals that mark the features of an enlightened and progressive society. After half a century and more, we are still struggling with our identity having lost it somewhere along the way. Under these circumstances it is a small wonder that Pakistanis across the socio-economic spectrum are head in for all points of compass.
Even people who would not have dreamed of leaving a year or two ago are now talking about applying for work permits in UK, Australia and Canada. Let’s face the fact that nobody wants to go off and settle in a foreign, often hostile land among total strangers unless he has run out of potions in his country. And most of us are running out hope and options.
How long can Pakistan sustain this unchecked hemorrhage of talent? In effect, we are caught in a no-win situation; the emigration of our best minds leads to a further deterioration in the quality of life which leads to more and more people opting out. But in a sense, this situation is largely the product of past and present policies. Scientists and engineers find that there is no research worth the name happening here and so leave for countries that will use their experience and education productively. Other professionals find they are not adequately awarded.
If we want to stop this brain drain, we must have to promote the socioeconomic life of the people, give opportunities and incentives so that people could at least get as much in which they could afford basic necessities for their families. If it is not done this brain drain will never stop.
