Bangladesh grappling with brain drain wave

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Young Bangladeshis, who make up about 40% of the South Asian country’s population, are leaving in droves for greener pastures.

Brain drain is responsible for the exodus of academics, doctors and engineers and skilled manpower limiting the country's capacity for growth, say educationists.

According to UNESCO, some 70,000-90,000 Bangladeshi students travel overseas for higher studies every year.

The US gave study permits to 8,598 Bangladeshis last year, a threefold increase since 2009.

Dil Afroza Begum, acting chairman of University Grant Commission (UGC), the regulatory body of higher education in Bangladesh, in an interview with Anadolu Agency shared the reasons for the brain drain.

She said the top brains leave the country due to a lack of opportunities for research at universities.

“We don’t have modern scientific labs for conducting higher research at universities. And this is a major obstacle (and the reason) why so many students leave for the US, Canada, Australia, and other developed countries every year,” she added.

Official data says, about 13 million Bangladeshis are living abroad.

There are 53 public and 103 private universities in Bangladesh. But no Bangladeshi university has made it to the top 500 of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World Ranking published in June this year.

"It's a great loss for the country when a topper of the prestigious Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) leaves the country as soon as completes his state-funded degree. Brain drain has a deep economic effect," she said.

According to Transparency International Bangladesh, at least 250,000 foreigners are working in Bangladesh to meet the gap in skilled professionals.

She said to lure ex-pat Bangladeshis to the country "we will have to ensure good job prospects" and revise salary structures that allow for a comfortable life in megacities like Dhaka, where the cost of living is on the higher side.

Begum said there was a need to change the curriculum for higher education and in this regard the country has made big strides.

Bangladesh recently unveiled a revised National Curriculum Framework with a major focus on competency-based schooling which abolishes examinations before Grade 10.

She said UGC recently launched online and blended learning at universities.

The official, however, lamented budget constraints hinder the pace of development.

The government in June allocated only 1.83% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the education sector, while the UN recommends 6%.