Education and Primary and Mass Education Minister ANM Ehsanul Haque Milon on Monday stressed the need for 'reverse brain drain', saying Bangladeshi students pursuing higher education abroad should return home to contribute to national development and public welfare.
Speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration function of the second phase of the Pakistan-Bangladesh Knowledge Corridor and the opening of the Education Expo 2026 at a hotel in the capital, the minister said that the country's development depended on educated youths returning with international knowledge and expertise.
"I will say, not brain drain, but reverse brain drain must be done. Our country's children will go abroad and get higher education and will return to the country from there, " he added.
The minister said the Bangladesh Pakistan Knowledge Corridor would open "new horizons" in education and research, adding that bilateral cooperation in the education sector was expanding steadily.
"In future, education activities will play an important role in the progress of the relations between Bangladesh and Pakistan," he said.
Referring to scholarship opportunities offered by Pakistani universities, Milon said that Bangladeshi students were receiving the opportunity to pursue higher education there without tuition costs, alongside monthly stipends for accommodation and living expenses.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to Dhaka Imran Haider and Education Ministry Secretary Abdul Khaleq attended the programme.
After inaugurating the expo2026, the minister visited stalls of participants of Pakistan's universities and expressed hope for the successful implementation of the Allama Iqbal Scholarship.
Under the scholarship programme, a total of 500 Bangladeshi students are expected to receive opportunities to study in Pakistan in phases over the next five years. Twenty Pakistani universities have participated at the Education Expo.
