Kathmandu, Mar. 1: The government should not try to stop the
youth leaving the country for the first or second time in search of jobs
abroad, say labour market experts.
They said that for the youths, foreign employment was not
only about earning money but also meeting the peer pressure, romanticism about
boarding a plane and visiting a new and developed city as well as a dream of
providing a good education, health and lifestyle to their families.
“Many people, include those in
the government, keep on saying that youth out-migration must be stopped. But I
think this is a flawed notion. We should let go the first or second timers and
stop them back in the country afterwards,” said Ganesh Gurung, a labour expert.
According to him, the young
workers don’t have the money to start a business, skill to get a good job, are
of comparatively small age and have a dream to earn money, so it’s not wise to
stop them back here while those who have returned from foreign countries, after
working there for 5/6 years, have the money and skills to start a business or
join a job.
Those who return are mature
and have strong motivation to stay back with their family and bring their
children up and look after the aged parents.
“Therefore, the government
should prepare policies and programmes keeping this in view,” said Gurung.
However, he said that of the 1,200
to 1,500 youth who leave the country every day in search of a job in foreign
lands, about 150-200 could be stopped from flying abroad with better employment
and business promotion policies.
Bharat Raj Acharya, vice-chairman of the Employers’ Council
at the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), said
that the youth thought working in foreign land or big cities as ‘glamorous’,
therefore it was ‘not so good’ to stop them from going there.
“Without a better plan and programmes or employment
opportunities in the country, we shouldn’t try to stop the youth from going
abroad,” he said.
According to him, export promotion through the development of
the manufacturing sector industries is the best way to generation employment and
foreign currency income for a remittance-based country like Nepal.
Employment can be generated in the manufacturing industry in
comparison to the service sector.
Economist and former economic advisor to the government
Keshav Acharya said that foreign employment had a positive impact on the
education and wellbeing of the workers’ families as well as poverty
alleviation.
He stated that the country had largely failed to capitalise on
the skills which the Nepali youth have developed while working in foreign lands.
“At the same time, there is lack of financing instruments to
support the youth in running their own business. Many youth shave good business
idea but no money. The government and the private sector both have failed in
this regard,” said Acharya.
Remittance is the country’s major source of foreign currency
followed by foreign assistance, export trade and in-bound tourism.
Nepal received Rs. 695 billion in remittance last fiscal year
2016/17, and earned Rs. 73.05 billion in exports against the import of Rs.
990.11 billion.
Remittance has a ratio of 26.8 per cent to Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of the country while the import is 38.1 per cent.
The size of the country’s economy is about Rs. 2600 billion
(US$ 26 billion).
Published in The Rising Nepal on 2 March 2018.
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