What is REMMITTANCE?

Remittance can also refer to the accounting concept of a monetary payment transferred by a customer to a business; see remittance advice. For a person who was exiled and sent an allowance on condition that they did not return home, see remittance man. A remittance is a transfer of money by a foreign worker to his or her home country. Money sent home by migrants constitutes the second largest financial inflow to many developing countries, exceeding international aid. Remittances contribute to economic growth and to the livelihoods of people worldwide[citation
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Moreover, remittance transfers can also promote access to financial services for the sender and recipient, thereby increasing financial and social inclusion[citation needed]. Remittances also foster, in the receiving countries, a further economic dependence on the global economy instead of building sustainable, local economies.

Significance in BD:
As one of the Least Developed Countries (LDC), foreign currency is needed for socio-economic development. Remittances help Bangladesh to make investments for industrial development, modernise its industries by importing high-tech machineries for export-oriented manufacturing, modernise its agriculture, invest in education, etc.

On the one hand, these factors create more employment in the country and, on the other, help the country to increase its export of manufactured goods as opposed to agricultural products, raw materials, low quality finished products etc., as they were in the past. A World Bank analysis said: "Remittance has been a key driver of economic growth and poverty reduction in Bangladesh." The migrants send back billions of dollars and the country can then use these resources for investment for industrial development, improvement of educational facilities and services, and extend and improve its health services. The money that is sent back is also beneficial to the families and to the country in that it helps reduce poverty and also allows for investment in small businesses and chances for furthering education. The government also believes that there is compelling evidence that international migration -- through remittances and the transfer of social capital -- can positively contribute towards alleviating poverty. The government is also convinced that the effects are both direct and also through consumption and investment multipliers. Migration provides job opportunities to the young population in Bangladesh. These views are also supported by the 2005 IOM report "The MDGs and Migration," which explains how migration can not only increase income (remittances) but also reduce economic inequality in the society, and thus recommends mainstreaming migration into poverty reduction strategies. IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGE: Bangladesh, being a huge labour surplus country, has potential to boost its economy by structural emphasis on foreign languages. Remittances sent by migrants through official channels reached a record $11 billion in 2010 while

formal remittances inflow in 2010 was $10,804 million (World Bank, 2011). Percentage of Bangladeshi migrants by continent of destination in Europe is only 5% while in Asia it is 92% (Human Development Report, 2009). It is assumed that by acquiring European languages the number of Bangladeshi migrants in Europe could be increased from 5% to 25% within a decade. It is a matter of concern that the unsatisfactory performance of students in language and literacy are visible at all levels of our education system, with its accompanying effects on language competence. This negatively affects the potential for human development. In order to provide solutions while responding properly to developing trends in our region and beyond in the age of geo-economics, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment can formulate a national policy and strategy on language education. Apart from many private and public universities, foreign languages can be taught from school level as well. International skills should be a major part in every young person's school curriculum. Research indicates that children who are exposed to a foreign language at a young age achieve higher levels of cognitive development and are better at solving complex problems than those who are not (Bialystok & Hakuta 1994). All these factors emphasise the urgency for learning foreign languages in addition to our mother tongue. In India, for example, learning a foreign language is mandatory from class seven. It is crystal clear that Bangladesh is far behind other countries on the foreign language issue. Our young people are at a growing disadvantage in the employment market because knowledge of English is not enough. Despite calls for action, we have fallen further behind the rest of the world in preparing our students

to communicate effectively in languages other than English. An unsuccessful attempt was made in 1983 to introduce Arabic as a required language in primary and secondary levels. However, Arabic was not a popular subject at the college and university level. Bangladesh needs a complete language policy. Among those engaged in international education, it is considered a basic premise that, in today's knowledge-based global economy and society, full command of at least one foreign language is a core competency that should become compulsory for all graduates of higher-education institutions. It is also generally acknowledged that higher-education institutions and the educational systems should make more serious efforts to go beyond mere lip-service by making sure that proficiency in a foreign language is really acquired at a functional level. Parents and educators would be wise to take advantage of the many available opportunities and resources for foreign language learning for the benefit of children coming of age in the 21st century.

Easier rules for migration, remittance on cards

The government is taking steps for Bangladeshi migrant workers to let them send up to $500 dollars to the country without any fee. Migration of workers and the flow of remittance are important for the country's economy. Remittance contributes around 13 percent to the GDP [gross domestic product]. the labour wing officials should work sincerely to increase the flow of remittance and resolve the problems of migrant workers. Mentioning that around 80 lakh Bangladeshis are now working in different foreign countries, he also asked the

officials to be more proactive to explore labour market abroad for more manpower export. The minister said the cost of migration from Bangladesh is much higher than that of other countries. The migration cost shouldn't be higher than 2-4 months' salary of a worker. They should ensure security of women migrant workers and take steps so that they can communicate with their family members over phone any time without any hassle. The recruiting agencies should register their (women workers) names for insurance.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?: Bangladesh signed The United Nations International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers in the year 1998, and they ratified the convention last year in September 24. The UN International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families is an international agreement governing the protection of migrant workers and their families. The Government should interpret the convention into the national law. It is planning to do that as a comprehension law migration Act 2012, but it has not been passed yet. People's organizations are lobbying with the government to do so, says Md Aminul Islam, Manager, Safe Migration Advocacy, BRAC. Even though the convention has been ratified, there is a long way to go. 69 percent of the migrant laborers migrate with the help of middlemen's information. This 69 percent is the most vulnerable group, since they are most likely to be victimized. 42 percent leaves after they receive official pre-departure training. There are 38 Technical Training Centers (TTC) set up by the government. Other than that,

BRAC and Welfare Association for the Rights of Bangladeshi Emigrants (WARBE) Development Foundation are also providing pre-departure training. Government has also opened a Probashi Kallyan Bank, which is giving out limited loans. Most of these migrant labourers who migrate are between the ages 18-40. One of the issues that need addressing is the reintegration of migrant labourers when they return to Bangladesh. Despite the huge amount of remittance, the labourers bring to the GDP of the country, there is hardly any mechanism to support and help them once they get back. There is no data regarding the number of returnee migrant labourers as well. Grassroots economy has improved due to the contribution of remittance. Families of migrant labourers who live in villages are getting money to take nutrition and to get education. It is not only the remittance, but labourers help our nation in many different ways. Since millions of young men are migrating every year, it is helping the population of the country. If they stayed back, they would have married and started families, says Syed Saiful Haque, Chairperson, WARBE. There are several things that the government needs to do for the departure and the reintegration of the migrant labourers. There should be zero migrant cost for the labourers. The minimum cost for migration is around 84 thousand takas. However, the labourers in Bangladesh have to pay 2-3 lakh takas to recruiting agencies and middlemen. The government is encouraging people to migrate and work abroad, and the government is earning so much in return without any investment. It is the responsibility of the government that they pay the migration cost, says Saiful Haque. Often times the labourers do not reveal that they have to pay so much,

fearing that they might lose the chance of migrating altogether. Thus there should be a proper access and dissemination of information among the labourers. Just like the way there are pre-departure programmes, there should be training centres for vocational and entrepreneurship training for the returnee migrant labourers. They need more logistic support and training to open poultry farms and small businesses. Government also needs to prepare for emergency situations. The labourers who were deported from Libya recently were clueless once they got back. Bangladesh took loans from The World Bank to provide that to the labourers. If the government had stronger bi-lateral agreements with Libya, instead of an MoU (A memorandum of understanding), the government could have asked to reemploy the labourers, since the political situation has stabilised. It all comes down to good governance, says Saiful Haque. BRAC has been working for the pre-departure programme for 5 years now. We have slowly started to work for reintegration as well. After assessing the needs of the most vulnerable, we give them grants, along with basic training, so that they get involved with income generation activities. We give them technical support if they want to make things for sale, or if they want to set up a nursery. We give loans of Taka 2-3 lakhs to the ones who have personal capacity and mental strength. We give them technical support as well, says Aminul Islam. According to International Labour Organisation (ILO), there are several terms that should not be used regarding labour migration. The term manpower exchange is demeaning, because the labour of the migrants gets debased to some kind of commodity. The use of irregular, instead of illegal should be practiced, because the labourers migrate in a legal way, but at some point they lose their legal status for various reasons. The use of low skilled, instead of unskilled should

be facilitated, because a labourer's expertise of picking up bricks and doing construction work exemplify the struggle and years of practice. The labourers are human beings, and they are contributing to the economy of Bangladesh in the most direct and significant way. Not valuing them for their labour, not acknowledging them as human beings who deserve protection and support, and not respecting them, is not only a failure of the State, but also failure of our imagination and human instincts. The direct effect of the Euro-zone crisis on remittances may be small, but the indirect effects could be significant: Europes share in Bangladeshs total remittances is only about 8 percent, mostly from the United Kingdom and Germany. Thus, the direct effect of a Euro crisis on remittance inflows may not be significant. However, the indirect effects could be substantial, because of a possible slowdown of economic activities in the oil-exporting Gulf countries, combined source of about 78 percent of Bangladeshs total remittances. A decline in oil prices due to a Euro crisis would likely slow economic activity in those countries, the severity depending on the extent of the slowdown. This would harm remittance inflows from non-Gulf countries.