Pakistan’s Increasingly Alarming Brain Drain

It would not be wrong to say that students in Pakistan are obsessed with bagging lucrative jobs abroad. The rat race for achieving top scores begins from a fairly lower educational level – students are driven to get admissions in international, Ivy League universities by getting high SAT scores.

Parents are also highly invested in shifting their children’s entire focus to academics – driving them around town from school to tuition centers and then back home. Helicopter parents are willing to spend a fortune on getting the best of the best teachers in town for their students, only to use up all these resources and send their children abroad. These resources may include anything from expensive tuitions, extracurricular activities or online professional thesis writing services.

Reasons for Brain Drain in Pakistan

There are several factors that are compelling people to go and settle abroad. Most Pakistanis are seen securing jobs in countries like the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, and Dubai. Competition of bagging a reputable job in these countries is exceedingly high, but most students are adamant upon going abroad instead of working at the best institutes locally. Dissertation writing services have explored these trends in students and here are the main reasons why they move abroad.

• Better Employment Opportunities 

Naturally, working in developed countries brings more income for lesser hours as compared to working in your native country. Pay is according to the hours you give in working; hence, people often do not mind working night shifts or even extensive corporate jobs that require them to work from nine to five. The office environment is more accommodating and organized; that is why most people prefer to find jobs abroad.

• Greater Exposure 

Students tend to go for internships, if not for permanent jobs and education, abroad. They believe that this would help them network better. It helps them gain exposure to the modern techniques of teaching that are being incorporated there. Moreover, it simply broadens their horizons and they get to learn in a more advanced environment.

• Higher Education that is Unavailable in Pakistan

Unfortunately, one of the massive drawbacks that we have is that our universities provide students with many of the conventional degrees. Not everyone is meant to be a doctor or an engineer. Courses like liberal arts and law are looked down upon here – hence, students are more interested in pursuing them in an environment where there are more awareness and appreciation of the subject.

Furthermore, degrees in subjects like Actuarial Sciences are either complete nonexistent or not up to par with international standards; thus, students are more willing to invest in their time and money studying these abroad.

• Additional Facilities 

To top it all off, once you gain stable employment abroad, many welfare states provide you with quality healthcare, free education and basic needs for you and your family. It is no surprise that people are striving to establish themselves abroad with a promise of an upgraded lifestyle.

The Adverse Impact of Brain Drain 

Brain drain is when the intellectual and hardworking students who have been reshaped and trained through our local resources, choose to work abroad. This way our economy does not benefit from the budget, although meager, that has been invested in the education of our people.

Students study abroad, bag jobs there and settle in those countries. Then they contribute to improving their new country’s economy; now any research or trailblazing accomplishment that they shall achieve will be credited to the new nation in which they have settled.

This is not an uncommon practice for many doctors, lawyers and artists have gone abroad to show their skills. If Pakistan really wants to improve its economic status and establish a literate society, its administration must take this matter seriously. Better employment opportunities and additional facilities must be provided for job satisfaction here. Otherwise, we might lose a massive chunk of hardworking individuals who have the potential to reshape our society.