AhlulBayt News Agency: Dr. Abdul Latif Nazari, Deputy Minister of Economy in Afghanistan’s caretaker government and a prominent Shia figure, has expressed serious concern that if Afghanistan fails to support its talented youth and intellectual elite, they will emigrate, worsening the country’s brain drain.
Speaking at an award ceremony at Maarif School in western Kabul, Dr. Nazari addressed hundreds of students, parents, and teachers from 82 Shia schools. The event honored top performers in the 4th Mathematics Olympiad and the 2nd Dari Language Olympiad.
He told the gathering:
Organizing Olympiads is important, it helps discover talent, but the real challenge comes next: keeping and nurturing these talented individuals. We have taken the first step by identifying them. Now we must strengthen, protect, and support them so they can contribute to Afghanistan’s scientific, economic, cultural, and political progress.
Brain drain is a major problem in developing countries, and Afghanistan is suffering from it badly. If we don’t provide social respect, scholarships, and financial support to our elite, they will leave. Other countries will happily use their skills while Afghanistan, more than ever before, desperately needs qualified and capable people.”
Dr. Nazari emphasized that throughout history, real social, cultural, political, and economic change has always been driven by a small group of talented individuals—not by the entire population.
“In a nation of 40 million, it is the elite who guide society, shape public discourse, and create sustainable economic growth. Investment in talent must start in childhood. The moment a child shows exceptional ability that is the moment we should begin investing in them through proper education and expert guidance.”
Shia families in western Kabul warmly welcomed the Olympiads and expressed pride that their children’s abilities are being recognized.
The competitions were organized through the initiative of families and school principals, with backing from Afghanistan’s caretaker government.
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