Former Sharif University Professor Expresses Concern Over Migration Trends; Current Situation is 'Mass Exodus'

Ali Sharifi Zarachi, a former professor at the Sharif University of Technology's Computer Engineering Department, expressed his concerns about the increasing trend of migration from Iran and the government's inaction regarding this issue in a series of writings shared on the social media platform 'X' on Tuesday. He described the current situation as a 'mass exodus.' The professor, who has been barred from teaching due to his support for the student protests of 2022, noted that some government officials downplay this obvious catastrophe, referring to it as a brain drain, while in reality, 'brain exchange' with the world occurs when there is a hopeful ratio of specialists leaving the country and specialists entering it. However, the current situation is a 'mass exodus' that has affected not only specialists and graduates of top universities but has also reached the general public. Sharifi Zarachi provided statistics stating that '115,000 Iranians migrated to 38 advanced countries in 2021, representing a 141% increase compared to the previous year, making Iran the top country for brain drain globally.' He compared this figure of 115,000 migrants in just one year to the 2,000 graduates annually from Sharif University and 60,000 graduates since the university's establishment, as well as 9,850 new PhD students, 130,000 new master's students, and 183,000 new undergraduate students from public universities in the same year, along with approximately 117,000 doctors who have emigrated in recent years. The representative of Chabahar in the Islamic Consultative Assembly stated on October 25 that the emigration of human capital is more detrimental than the emigration of economic capital, asserting that 'the emigration of human capital is a serious issue, and in my opinion, the damage from this matter is far worse and more serious than the emigration of economic capital from the country. Currently, many of the top individuals in the national entrance exam, elites, and healthcare personnel are choosing the path of emigration, and these events have made the situation more difficult than before.' The Iran Watch website, in a mid-September report on migration titled 'The Absence of an Opportunity for a Bright Future,' stated, 'Iranian skilled and educated migrants take with them a suitcase of ideas and effective plans for the advancement and prosperity of this land to the West, while the government continues to willingly export these human resources.'