Moroccan Government is alarmed by the current situation of brain drain with Minister for Employment in the country Mohamed Amkaraz saying they are addressing the situation.

Acknowledging the problems posed by the exodus of Morocco's talent, Amakraz submitted that, it is "difficult" to control the number of people who choose to leave the country for economic reasons.

He argued that the government cannot provide statistics on the number of qualified Moroccans leaving to work abroad due to the freedom of movement guaranteed by the constitution.

"It is impossible to close borders for those who want to emigrate or travel," the minister said.

The minister said that the people who choose to leave the country have their own reasons.

"But they know that a Moroccan doctor can work in the country in very appropriate conditions," however, they still prefer to emigrate.

Like other countries in Africa and the Middle East, thousands of Moroccans, with or without higher education qualifications, dream of leaving to find better employment opportunities.

In 2019 officials from the government and academics addressed the issue of the brain drain even as Morocco's Minister of  Education Said Amzazi putting estimates at 600 the number of Moroccan engineers who leave the country yearly.

Moroccan MP Omar Hijra of the opposition party of Al Istiqlal argued that the phenomenon has become an alarming issue in recent years.

In a speech at the monthly plenary session in June 2019, the MP said that more than 1,040 administrative and technical executives left the country in 2018.

He added that the number included more than 8,000 administrative employees, technical executives, 1,200 businessmen, 600 engineers, and 630 doctors.

A recent national survey from the High Commission for Planning (HCP) shows that nearly a quarter or 23.3% of Moroccan non-migrants want to leave the country.

Source(s): Morocco World News