Bangladesh enjoys South Asian "brain gain"

By Adnan Fahad for Khabar South Asia in Dhaka – 04/04/12

April 03, 2012 (http://www.khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2012/04/03/feature-02#comments)
Mohammad Sayim Wani grew up in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-occupied Kashmir. Now 25, he saw firsthand how the violent insurgency wracked his motherland when he attended primary and high school in the 1990s.

The bloodshed had a strong impact on the young man, who came to realise that his dreams of becoming a medical doctor would be hard to fulfil if he stayed there. When the opportunity arose six years ago, under a programme being offered to students from SAARC member countries, he left for Bangladesh.

"My parents also were interested to send me out of Kashmir because of the socio-political instability prevailing in our region," Wani told Khabar South Asia.

He is not alone in making that choice. In recent years, Bangladesh has become a sought-after destination for young people intent on a career in medicine or other skilled professional fields. \

Although the country faces economic challenges, its relatively high level of intercommunal harmony has made it attractive to foreign students.

"Like all parents, our parents too want us to stay in peace and security," said Wani, who has spent the past five and a half years studying at Sir Salimullah Medical College in Dhaka. "Though Bangladesh is not a developed nation, we have found social peace and communal harmony here."
Institutions such as the SSMC have attracted a growing number of students from other South Asian nations, including Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

Shah Waliullah, a Pakistani student of SSMC, told Khabar there are more than 80 Pakistani students currently studying at different government medical and dental colleges in Bangladesh under SAARC quota.

"We are being selected by the Ministry of Education for medical studies in Bangladesh through a test conducted by the National Testing Service (NTS), Islamabad," he said.

Shah said the standard of medical education in Bangladesh is similar to that of Pakistan, and the public medical and dental colleges have full-fledged faculties with well-equipped labs and well-developed hospitals.

As in previous years, Bangladesh offered 14 self-financed seats to Pakistani students for the 2012 academic session in Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Doctor of Dental Sciences (DDS) courses. The selected students will pay tuition and other charges at rates on par with Bangladeshi students.

"It was a great decision to study in Bangladesh as the environment in public educational institutions here is much better than the private institutions in Pakistan," said Hasnain Basid, a native of Lahore who is studying dental science at Dhaka Dental College.

"Peace is the best thing in Bangladesh," he added.