Youth dropouts rising

There are a large number of children who do not go to school in Pakistan. According to a report by UNDP, the rate of enrollment in the country is growing very slowly i.e. 0.92 % growth rate. This means that it will take about 60 years in order to achieve the “zero out-of-school children” goal. About 76.9% youth leave their education due to financial limitations. A 2017 research revealed that Pakistan has the largest generation of youth at the moment since its establishment. Hence there is a need to meet the educational demands of these young people who are facing issues of unemployment. With the youth growing at a fast pace while jobs are already scarce, providing food and shelter to school drop-outs will result in a major crisis in the country.

We need to empower our youth and help them develop their abilities. Education along with training to help them acquire skills that will increase their chances of employability can be one way of handling this issue. On the other hand, the government must ensure that jobs are made available for these young people.

The following statistics must be considered by the government while making decisions about education and job creation:

Hence investment in quality education, employment, and youth empowerment should be the key targets of the country. About 4 million youth reaches the working-age yearly. This means that there is a need to create 4.5 million new jobs over a period of five years and 0.9 million jobs yearly.

These issues need to be addressed on an urgent basis before it creates problems. We cannot afford to have a nation full of uneducated youth. The country already suffers from poverty, corruption, terrorism, and unemployment. A young generation that is not educated enough to support the economy of the country will become a further burden for the nation.

On a positive note, the government should work together with the education sector and make efforts to educate the younger generation. It should support schools, colleges and universities to ensure that the youth of Pakistan is educated enough to get a job. Next, the government should create job opportunities for these young people. For example, if there aren’t enough jobs in Pakistan, outsourcing should be supported. The government can help young people find jobs outside of Pakistan while staying at home. Efforts such as collaborating with universities in China, Malaysia, and Turkey are appreciable. This allows young people from Pakistan to get educated at international universities. Such collaborations should also be created to make more jobs available for Pakistani youth in the international world.

Education should be easily available i.e. affordable and accessible. If schools cannot be created in every corner of Pakistan, arrangements should be made for online education, non-formal education, vocational training etc. These sessions can be held in groups in villages where big institutes are not available and where girls are not allowed to go far off for education purposes.

Once the youth is educated and employed, they can add great value to the economy of Pakistan. We can pay off debts, develop the infrastructure of the country, eradicate poverty and meet other national goals if our youth is able to use their potential to the maximum. After all, “An educated youth means a prosperous nation.”

Adil Shahzad