Creation and retention of human resources
Saturday, 28 July 2007
Abdus Sobhan
THERE are irrefutable examples to show why of all economic resources, human resources needs to be counted as one that can be of the greatest value for a country to climb up the ladder of economic growth and development. Japan is a very prominent example of this reality. A country without significant mineral and other natural resources, Japan emerged as the world's second biggest and strongest economy in the post World War II period singularly due to the great technical know-how and capacities of its workforce in particular and the people in general. Thus, economists everywhere, nowadays, put special emphasis on creation of human resources by a country as the surest way of making economic progress by it.
Bangladeshi policy planners have not been unmindful about developing human resources. Indeed, a big part of the education budget goes into subsidised education to build human resources in the medical, engineering, agricultural and other sectors. But a recent report released by the United Nations (UN) to highlight the problem of 'brain drain' from the least developed countries (LDCs), included a section on Bangladesh that highlighted how this phenomenon was affecting Bangladesh. Among other things, it stated that 65 per cent of all newly graduated doctors in Bangladesh seek jobs abroad and the country loses 200 doctors from the government sector every year. But medical education in the public sector is reared with generous support by the Bangladesh government. The country and the taxpayers make notable financial sacrifices to educate a doctor. But he or she leaves the country for good at the first opportunity. This is not peculiar to the medical profession. Benefiting from highly subsidised education, the beneficiaries in other fields such as engineering, computer education, agricultural science, etc., all hunger for foreign jobs on a long lasting basis very unconscionably without thinking of their duty to the country and what the country has done to equip them with specialist knowledge and training.
Thus, there is a big challenge of retaining human resources created at much costs to the country. This need must be addressed effectively and at the earliest. Otherwise, Bangladesh will continue to be a maker of human resources who would ultimately be used by other countries. This must not be allowed to go on. All professionals who benefit from subsidised education should be obliged to commit to an undertaking that they would remain and serve in the country for a stipulated number of years. In a different forms, barriers should be also raised in the way of senior specialist professionals from leaving the country to take up foreign employment. At the same time, government should consider what feasible steps can be taken financially and in other ways to improve the money income and the real income of the professionals to create incentives for them to serve their country.
The other big challenge in the development of human resources is making syllabuses, training modules and facilities, up-to-date to meet the needs of the time. Experts have time and again, called for early actions -- pragmatic ones -- to meet this challenge. They have drawn drew attention to the fact that Bangladesh lacks facilities for state-of-the-art curricula in different areas for educating and training professionals. There is also a dearth of facilities for study of special subjects with a growing demand or application. Policies and actions will, therefor, have to be devoted to this need to raise human resources in Bangladesh at par with any other country.
THERE are irrefutable examples to show why of all economic resources, human resources needs to be counted as one that can be of the greatest value for a country to climb up the ladder of economic growth and development. Japan is a very prominent example of this reality. A country without significant mineral and other natural resources, Japan emerged as the world's second biggest and strongest economy in the post World War II period singularly due to the great technical know-how and capacities of its workforce in particular and the people in general. Thus, economists everywhere, nowadays, put special emphasis on creation of human resources by a country as the surest way of making economic progress by it.
Bangladeshi policy planners have not been unmindful about developing human resources. Indeed, a big part of the education budget goes into subsidised education to build human resources in the medical, engineering, agricultural and other sectors. But a recent report released by the United Nations (UN) to highlight the problem of 'brain drain' from the least developed countries (LDCs), included a section on Bangladesh that highlighted how this phenomenon was affecting Bangladesh. Among other things, it stated that 65 per cent of all newly graduated doctors in Bangladesh seek jobs abroad and the country loses 200 doctors from the government sector every year. But medical education in the public sector is reared with generous support by the Bangladesh government. The country and the taxpayers make notable financial sacrifices to educate a doctor. But he or she leaves the country for good at the first opportunity. This is not peculiar to the medical profession. Benefiting from highly subsidised education, the beneficiaries in other fields such as engineering, computer education, agricultural science, etc., all hunger for foreign jobs on a long lasting basis very unconscionably without thinking of their duty to the country and what the country has done to equip them with specialist knowledge and training.
Thus, there is a big challenge of retaining human resources created at much costs to the country. This need must be addressed effectively and at the earliest. Otherwise, Bangladesh will continue to be a maker of human resources who would ultimately be used by other countries. This must not be allowed to go on. All professionals who benefit from subsidised education should be obliged to commit to an undertaking that they would remain and serve in the country for a stipulated number of years. In a different forms, barriers should be also raised in the way of senior specialist professionals from leaving the country to take up foreign employment. At the same time, government should consider what feasible steps can be taken financially and in other ways to improve the money income and the real income of the professionals to create incentives for them to serve their country.
The other big challenge in the development of human resources is making syllabuses, training modules and facilities, up-to-date to meet the needs of the time. Experts have time and again, called for early actions -- pragmatic ones -- to meet this challenge. They have drawn drew attention to the fact that Bangladesh lacks facilities for state-of-the-art curricula in different areas for educating and training professionals. There is also a dearth of facilities for study of special subjects with a growing demand or application. Policies and actions will, therefor, have to be devoted to this need to raise human resources in Bangladesh at par with any other country.