Educational mobility and brain drain in Nepal

1. Basant Lamsal
M. Phil. Educational Leadership
1st Semester, 2016
EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY IN
NEPAL

2. WHAT IS EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY?
• Mobility = movement
• Educational mobility = movement of
educated people from less economically
advanced areas to more economically
advanced areas

3. EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY = BRAIN DRAIN
• ‘High-skilled migration from poorer to wealthier
countries, commonly referred to as “brain drain”,
is viewed with significant unease due to the vital
role played by human capital in economic growth
and development processes.’ (Özden & Phillips,
2015)
• ‘The term “Brain drain” is used when highly
trained or qualified workers move from nation of
origin to other nation usually for better pay or
living conditions. Migration of technical personnel
or brain drain is also known as “The human
capital flight”.’ (Baral & Sapkota, 2015)

4. PRESENT SCENARIO OF EDUCATIONAL
MOBILITY IN NEPAL
• Internal mobility from rural areas to the center or capital
• External mobility to other countries (big problem and focus
in this presentation)
• Roughly 1,200 Nepalese leave the country every day
• Estimated 300,000 youth leave Nepal every year
• “This place is always crowded with people wanting to
go abroad,” says Kamala Thapa, a security guard at
the ministry of education. (edusanjal)

5. REASONS FOR EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY
• Career ambitions
• higher living standards
• Better employment opportunities with better income
• Education
• a luring western lifestyle
• stability and security
• “Push” factors (Supply) and “Pull” factors (Demand)
(Baral & Sapkota, 2015)
• Quota and reservations for certain communities
• Pressure from family, friends, colleagues…

6. BRAIN DRAIN OR BRAIN GAIN?
• ‘highly educated workers generate positive
externalities for society and these are
lost when they emigrate’ (Özden & Schiff, 2006)
• ‘the brain drain side of globalization creates
winners and losers’ (Docquier & Rapoport,2011)

7. EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY
 The Welfare Characteristics of Migrants
o Remittance and reducing poverty
o Improvement in lifestyle
o Education
o Gaining new knowledge and skills
o Compensate for lack of resources
o ‘An educated Diaspora reduce the information
asymmetry between origin and destination
countries, which may favor trade (Gould 1994)
and foreign capital inflow.’ (Cattaneo, 2008)

8. EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY
 The Spillover Characteristics form Migrant to
Non-Migrant
o Remittance worsening poverty
o Consumption multiplier / consumerism (Cattaneo,
2008)

9. EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY
• devastating consequences leading to loss of health
workers in the nation (Baral & Sapkota, 2015)
• Irreplaceable loss of skilled manpower
• Familial ties severed
• Cultural distancing
• Great loss for the country’s investment

10. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO BENEFIT FROM
EDUCATIONAL MOBILITY?
• Creating better and up to date education system
• Providing enough opportunities to the human capital
produced within the nation
• Forming dynamic human resource policies to ensure the
return of the expatriates

11. CONCLUSION
• Educational mobility, esp. to other nations, and the
resultant brain drain is counterproductive to the
nation.
• But if proper human resource policies are formed,
brain drain can be turned in to brain gain.

12. REFERENCES
Baral1, R. Sapkota, S. (2015). Factors influencing migration among Nepalese nurses. Journal of chitwan medical college, 5
(12), 25-29. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jcmc.v5i2.13151
Brain Drain Increases in Nepal Amidst Few Opportunities for Students and Professionals : Retrieved from
http://edusanjal.com/blog/brain-drain-increases-in-nepal-amidst-few-opportunities-for-students-and-
professionals#sthash.2o1kKJtj.dpuf
Cattaneo, C. International Migration, the Brain Drain and Poverty: A Cross Country Analysis
http://www.cespri.unibocconi.it
Docquier, F. & Rapoport, H. (2011). Globalization, Brain Drain and Development Discussion Paper No. 5590
Özden, Ç. & Phillips, D. (2015). What really is Brain Drain? Location of Birth, Education, and Migration Dynamics
of African Doctors. Retrieved from http://www.knomad.org/docs/working_papers/Knomad%20Working%
20Paper%204%20Brain%20Drain%20African%20Doctors.pdf
Özden, Ç. & Schiff, M. (Eds.). (2006). International migration, remittances, and the brain drain. Washington DC:
World Bank and Palgrave Macmillan