Brain drain

Students and skilled individuals are vital assets for any country. Facilitating and retaining students and skilled professionals thus ought to be a paramount priority of the state. However, what valuable human resources the country does have is leaving the country in droves. For many, if not most, the whole point of acquiring an education and skills is to one day leave Pakistan. This trend stems from factors such as political instability, lawlessness, economic hardships, limited opportunities, rising unemployment, and dim prospects of any of these problems being ameliorated let alone solved.

Even graduates with advanced degrees somehow face great uncertainty regarding job opportunities. Policymakers must address this pressing issue promptly. Despite Pakistan’s wealth of resources, both human and natural, there is a notable absence of effective strategies to harness them.

Ahmed Mubassir

Islamabad