This study aims to find elements for developing higher education policy in order to stem a brain drain in Sudan based on the interview with university students and graduates in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan.
Sudan has focused on higher education since its independence in 1956, especially concerning budget allocation. It has been expanding the number of educational institutions and students following the formulation of the Higher Education Act 1990, under the former regime (1989-2019). However, a large number of highly-skilled workers, such as doctors and professors, have been leaving the country aiming to secure a better life owing to the unstable political and economic situation. This brain drain leads to a hollowing out of the highly skilled human resources and to economic stagnation in the country.
I conducted a semi-structured interview in Khartoum from March to May 2018. The interviewees were 26 university students and graduates. I found that almost all interviewees intended to go out of Sudan, and they could be categorized four groups: (1) voluntary returning group, (2) acceptable remaining group, (3) aiming planned emigration group, and (4) aiming unplanned emigration group. The first group intends to come back after they get experience abroad. The second one hopes to go out, but considers that staying in Sudan is another option. The last two types are eager to move out, but the former group has plans for studying or working in foreign countries; the latter one has no specific ideas. Given the country's political and economic situation, this study recommends accepting the temporal brain drain and focusing on the increase of the number of voluntary returning group in collaboration and cooperation with researchers, companies, and policymakers