By IANS,
Islamabad : Brain drain “accounts for the growing mediocrity” in Pakistan, a leading daily said Monday.
An editorial in the News International Monday said that emigration “has been going on for decades with people leaving in waves for other lands…”
It said that in most cases, those who emigrated were highly qualified and educated who chose to make the long journey to the west.
“The impact of this on our own country has not been properly studied. But we can say almost without doubt that it has been a profound one.
“In many ways, it accounts for the growing mediocrity we come across in so many places and for the complaints from employers that they cannot find competent people to hire.”
Noting that this is “highly detrimental to the country and its future”, it said: “We need to plug the brain drain somehow. But rather than slowing down we have seen a speeding up of the process of departure over the past few years.”
It wrapped up saying: “For now, things don’t look so good. There is need for drastic change; otherwise we can look forward to a future where there are even fewer people with the professional expertise we need in a wide variety of fields.”