Roshan Sedhai

While unskilled labour has long been deserting the country in droves, highly skilled professionals, too, are leaving Nepal for jobs overseas.

The Department of Foreign Employment (DoFE) database shows that over 3,500 highly skilled professionals, including doctors, engineer, professors, chartered accountants, managers and nurses, left the country last year alone. This number is about one percent of all Nepali migrant workers spread out in different countries across the globe. Of the 384,665 workers who left the country for foreign employment in the fiscal year 2011/12, five percent were skilled, 20 percent semi-skilled and 74 percent unskilled labour.

Experts attribute this departure to unemployment, lower wages, lack of adequate facilities, the work environment, skyrocketing inflation and a changing lifestyle. Recent years have seen a marked increase in the departure of all kinds of labour, skilled, semiskilled and unskilled, leaving an indelible mark on the national socio-political economy.

While remittances might benefit the country in the short-term, the departure and foreign settlement of labour and the number of foreign graduates who choose not to return can be counterproductive in the long run. Economist Biswomber Pyakurel opines that the country is headed toward an “economy of uncertainty,” due to the government’s failure to simultaneously ensure political and economic restructuring.

“There are adverse effects on socio-economic lives at both the national and grassroots level. On the one hand, frustration is rising at the growing unemployment while on the other, young people are becoming more alienated from the country due to the length of their stay abroad,” says Pyakurel, adding that the brain drain and the departure of human resources is bound to increase further in the coming days.

Sociologist Ganesh Gurung concurs with Pyakurel but opines that the state is not in a condition to stop the educated younger generation, aspiring for better education, work opportunities and a better lifestyle, from leaving the country. Shallow nationalism alone cannot stop people from leaving, he says.

“The world is now a global village. These people should instead be encouraged to work for the country from foreign lands,” says Gurung. “It is when they are middle- aged that people want to return to the country. The government should be able to lure these people back.”

However, foreign employment agents claim that the exodus of skilled professionals is ten times higher than what the DoFE records reflect.

“Many highly skilled workers are recruited into lower categories. We have been sending engineers, doctors and chartered accountants into managerial positions,” said Bal Bahadur Tamang, Chairman of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA).

According to employment agencies, highly skilled workers get a minimum monthly salary of Rs 100,000, along with facilities like food, accommodation and allowances in the Gulf and the Middle East. Skilled workers receive a minimum of Rs 50,000 along with other facilities while semi-skilled and unskilled labourers get around Rs 30,000 and Rs 16,000 a month respectively.

“The positive thing now is most of our workers fall in 20-30 age groups, the most productive age group and we have a declining number of dependent populations. The pity is we have miserably failed to create employment opportunities,” said Pyakurel, adding it is a sign of venerable economy.

Experts attribute brain drain to unemployment, lower wages, inflation and changing lifestyle.

Published on: 10 October 2012 | The Kathmandu Post