Between Brain Drain and Brain Gain: The Role of Public Guidance Policies for Moroccan International Students

This paper was originaly published on Higher Education Policy Journal

This article critically assesses the alignment between Morocco’s public guidance schemes for international students and its national development goals. Specifically, it investigates the capacity of these mechanisms to transform student mobility from a potential ‘brain drain’ into a tangible ‘brain gain’. Employing a qualitative case study approach, we conducted a systematic content analysis of 204 mobility programmes and scholarships promoted by the Ministry of Higher Education (2019–2022). These data were triangulated with semi-structured interviews with three key institutional stakeholders, selected through purposive sampling and analysed until theoretical saturation was achieved. The analysis reveals three structural weaknesses in the current policy framework: (1) a passive incentive strategy that focuses almost exclusively on funding while remaining disconnected from national skill shortages; (2) a ‘missing link’ regarding student support during the study-abroad period; and (3) a complete absence of institutional mechanisms for attracting and reintegrating graduates upon completion of their studies. Empirically, this study provides the first systematic mapping of Morocco’s outbound mobility arrangements. Theoretically, it proposes a three-phase analytical model—departure, sojourn, return—demonstrating how flawed career guidance policies can inadvertently institutionalise a passive brain drain pattern even when political discourse explicitly favours circular migration and human capital retention. The paper concludes with concrete recommendations for reframing Moroccan guidance policy and identifies the limits of guidance as a sovereign tool given the structural leverage held by destination countries.