Today's blog subject is going to be about Moroccan brain
migration; a phenomenon that has a great effect on the economy and
prosperity of Morocco. In doing my research on the topic, I came across a video
and an article that covered all the aspects that are related to this
phenomenon, and that reflect my opinion about it. So, I’ve chosen to translate
the content of the article from Arabic to English.
Short
description of the phenomenon of Moroccan brain migration
In 1986, Dr. Mehdi ElMandjra- the Moroccan futurist who used to
work as Deputy Director of UNESCO in human and social sciences- warned about
the dangers and impacts of brain migration. Dr. ElMandjra had the chance of
participating to the study that was realized by UNITAR and that was about brain
migration and its economic impacts. In his book “Premiere Guerre
Civilisationnelle" (1991), Dr. ElMandjra mentioned that more than 700
Moroccan researchers at the doctoral level and above work on the French
National Center of research, and that the cost of forming each of these experts
for Morocco was about 1.000.000 Dhs (120.550$).
Professor Abdelaziz Rebbah
-IT official at the Moroccan Ministry of Industry and Trade- says: "Today
the subject is raised again, especially in the domain of IT. In fact, the EU,
Canada, and the U.S.A attract experts from abroad by all means because these
countries need hundreds of thousands of experts to build what is called the new
economy, an economy that is based on high-tech.
Professor
Khalid ElHariry –The president of the Moroccan Federation of Information
Technology, Telecommunications and Offshoring (Apebi) - says that: "since
1999, the number of Moroccan immigrants abroad noticeably increased, especially
computer engineers. For example, 60% of the students who graduated from The
Moroccan National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications in 2000 left
Morocco, and there are others that are ready to join their colleagues. The phenomenon
is not less dangerous among the students who graduated from National School of
Computer Science and Systems Analysis… Recently, during our seminar about the
subject in Mohammadia Engineering School, an opinion poll that we made inside
the hall revealed that 80% of the engineering students expressed their desire
of migrating immediately after graduating". Pr. ElHariry noticed that "this
phenomenon does not only include the jobless engineers, but also specialists
from different fields who work in the private and public sector.”
Some
statistics show that each year the Moroccan educational system does not produce
more than 200 engineers, while the needs of Moroccan business are of 800
engineers. In other words, the Moroccan schools of engineering have
difficulties covering the internal need of our country. So, how could Morocco
handle that if European and American countries adopt the graduated students
once they get their diplomas?
On the
international level, the need of IT engineers is more persistent. EU needs 1.2
million engineers in the five coming years, while the U.S. needs 750,000
engineers every year. This urgent need of IT engineers pushed the countries in
need (especially France, Germany, Canada and the U.S.) to facilitate the
immigration procedures for the targeted one. According to unofficial statistics
these facilities led to a weekly departure of 200 engineers to abroad. Pr.
Rebbah emphasizes: “these migration facilities made public institutions, banks,
construction and even specialized companies, lose their experts every days…And
by the end of the year 2000, Morocco may have had lost half of its experts.”
Causes of
the drain
Globalization
Globalization is considered as the most important cause of brain
drain, and that’s because globalization encourages technological advances, open
borders and reduced distances. According to Dr. Mostafa Zaoui –Research
Professor at the Faculty of Sciences in Rabat and President of the Office of
the State Secretary in scientific research- “Brain drain is not a national
phenomenon as much as it is a universal one, and its effect grew since the
collapse of the socialist camp and the large displacement of the human
resources and competencies upper East Europe in the early nineties. The other
factor that encouraged the fostering of brain drain is the increasing need of
developed countries of experts in the new strategic disciplines, such as
communication technologies and biotechnology.”
Dr. Abd Rahman
Fouladi –a Moroccan expert that left the country to Canada to teach in a
Canadian university- feels that: “Migration is a solution in a world where the
geographical boundaries lost its meaning because of globalization.” He explains
the phenomenon of brain migration by the fact “The young Moroccan population
exceeds the real capacity of Morocco to accommodate it. For this reason, it is
normal that Morocco has a surplus in cultural energies.”
Dr. Zaoui
confirms: “the reason behind the outbreak of the phenomenon of migration among
scientists and middle and higher technicians, is essentially the gap between
the supply and demand on these strategic specialties in developed societies,
which made occidental governments adopt strategies of attracting and bringing
in these competencies. After all, brain migration is a reaction to the lack of
appeal of the production systems of developing countries, and the competitive
strength of their counterparts in Western countries.”
Discouraging
working conditions
The followers and Activists of this phenomenon agree that the poor
working conditions in Morocco don’t encourage scientists to create and shine,
constrain their activities and prevent them from taking initiatives. In
addition, the political and economic crises worsen the situation. According to
Pr. Rebbah: “The weakness in the orientation and supervision, the absence of
the appropriate conditions to embrace and encourage these competences, and the
weak incentives and financial compensations are the main reasons why these
future experts leave the country.”
Pr. Mohammed
Chaoui –President of Moroccan National School of Computer Science and Systems
Analysis – explains more clearly: “the reasons for brain drain are the
non-response of working conditions in the field of communication and technology
to the expectations of the youth who graduated in this field. These young
engineers look forward to working in an environment that helps them create.
However, the conditions of work in Morocco don’t encourage creativity, the
means of working are old and the structure is poorly organized.”
Dr. Chaoui
links this situation to “the absence of continuous training, especially that
the field of communication and technology is constantly renewed.” He adds to
that: “Loss of confidence in the country is the main reason. Many of those who
immigrated, especially the ones who immigrated to Canada to get its
nationality, have lost all hope of reform in Morocco. In addition, we have
political problems in our country, especially what is in concern with
individual freedom. The low salaries remain a secondary reason because the cost
of life is so low as well.”
Nevertheless,
Pr. Mohammed Ben Chaaboune, Director of department of information system in the
Central Popular Bank, sees that the low salaries and compensations are the
major causes of brain drains. He says: “The offered wages to our brains abroad
are 2.5 times higher than the ones offered to them in Morocco. The encouraging
and tempting conditions of life in Europe make our experts dream of living in
Europe. These conditions are not just related to wages and compensations, but
also with the encouraging working environment, the importance of the projects,
the use of latest technologies, and the trainings that are offered.”
Pr. Abd Rahman
Fouladi –Professor in a Canadian university- agrees with what was said by Pr.
Mohammed Benchaaboun, and adds: “we should not forget that Moroccan experts
don’t find positions in their country that take full advantage of their level
of expertise. Add to that there are no investments in the field of technology
that is need of the expertise and specialization of these experts.”
Pr. Khalid
ElHariri summarizes the causes of brain drain in three points:
·
Financial reasons: they include wages and compensations compared
to the cost of life in Morocco, because there is a set of necessities imposed
by the nature of the job of an engineer. For example, adequate housing, convenient
means of transportation, means of entertainment and smart phones.
·
Working conditions: the engineers and experts find themselves
surrounded by restrictions and red tape. In addition, they are not treated
appropriately, and the working conditions are not encouraging, which hinder and
cripple their creative abilities.
·
Social environment: Young people don’t trust their country
anymore, and have lost any hope of change to occur. They no longer just think
about their future, but also about the future of their kids, which make them
prefer immigrating to countries that recognize human rights and respect the
rules of life and work.
What can be
done?
It is clear that the situation is so dangerous, especially given that
Morocco’s capital is its human resources and its creative brains. We saw
through the preceding that brain drain makes us move backwards despite
exploring future prospects and following the path of the scientific progress.
So, what should
the Moroccan government do in order to stop brain drain? And how can Morocco
best use its energies and expertise no matter if they leave or stay in the
country?
All the
experts and activists in the field of technology and new economy agree about
that the following actions are effective to overcome the crisis and get rid of
the effect of brain drain.
·
Increase the number of graduating students by a rate that responds
to the national and international demand. In fact, Morocco produces 200 to 240
engineers every year, while this number has to increase to 2000 each year.
Morocco has to produce a total of 10,000 experts in different fields as well.
·
Rely on complementary and transformative trainings, and that’s by
subjecting the recently graduated students and the youth that couldn’t find a
job to trainings that turn their interest and energies to the fields of
computer science.
·
Improve the existing institutes and create new ones.
·
Encourage institutes from the private sector.
·
Revise the system of wages and compensations and give priority to
technology in public institutions.
·
Reconsider the working terms and conditions in our country, and
make them more attractive and more convenient.
·
Create channels of partnership between national and foreign
countries.
·
Benefit from the Moroccan experts that are abroad by creating
means of keeping in touch with them (networks, websites, annual forums in
Morocco and the hosting countries…etc.)
·
Create in the Moroccan embassy new job opportunities that deal
with the new economy and IT.
·
Encourage the Moroccan experts who invest abroad or have senior
positions in multinationals to invest in Morocco.
Source of the article:
http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/walid98/admira.html
