According to the President of the Republic, it is regrettable that there are young people who go abroad for training and who do not return to the country. For most of the university professors interviewed, it is the fault of poverty.
“It is deplorable to see a young person go abroad to continue his studies with a government scholarship but, at the end of his studies, he decides to work in this country, to the detriment of his homeland which has yet invested in his studies ”, regretted President Evariste Ndayishimiye, on the occasion of a retreat of young Burundian intellectuals.
According to him, the country will never be able to develop as long as this brain drain continues. He calls on Burundian intellectuals to return home, because according to him, human capital is one of the pillars of sustainable development.
University professors, present in this retreat, also say they are outraged by this brain drain. However, some of them explained this exodus by the poverty which is observed in the country. It is this which pushes certain intellectuals to go in search of a better life elsewhere.
“We are among the least developed countries with very low wages. Our young people who go to training prefer to stay there to earn better than what they could earn at home, ” revealed Professor Léonidas Ndayizeye, professor of economics and management at the University of Burundi.
The lack of infrastructure will also be mentioned by teachers, as another cause of this brain drain.
These university professors urge the government to invest in the construction of developed infrastructure, which could encourage Burundian intellectuals to return to the motherland.
This retreat for young intellectuals saw the participation of around 600 young people, masters laureates.
