Youth; A liability? : By Haris Shinwary

John C. Maxwell, who was identified as the most popular leadership expert in the world by Inc. Magazine, says, When people ask me what to do for youth development? The answer I give them is to respect them in your family, school, society and country. Give them importance.

Maybe some people disagree with him because we are living in the society where respect has become an extinct thing. Mostly, our story is very similar to the Gullivers of Jonathan Swift. Respect is given to those who have a high rank, bank balance, high position or a reputed family and these are the notable people who get importance in our society.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the worlds fifth-most populous country, the third-most populous nation in Asia, and the second-most populous Islamic country with the total population of more than 229.5 million and is one of the youngest countries in the world. According to the Pakistan National Human Development Report, 68% of the population is under the age of 30 and around 27% is between the ages of 15 and 29. As far as education is concerned, Pakistan is one of those nations which are left out in this area and are far behind the most of the countries of the world. Pakistan has one of the worst literacy rates in the world which is one of the very core reasons for the slow growth, destructive economy and far of basic human rights.

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Although we celebrated the 75 Independence Day on August 14, 2022, our priority is never the youth and their empowerment. In Pakistan, the educational expenditure is served by 7% of the overall GDP. According to Human Development Report 2018, the country is ranking on the number of 150 out of 189 countries with a Human Development Indicator (HDI) value of 0.562. The Pakistans youth unemployment rate reached at peak as high as 9.41 percent which was 9.21 in 2020. Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) reported that over 31 percent of Pakistans youth are currently unemployed and of this figure, 51 per cent are females, while 16 per cent are males, with many of them holding professional degrees.

Although, there is a nominal National Youth Policy and nominal Provincial Youth Policies of all the four provinces but yet the federal and all the provincial governments seem to be fail in its implementations. All the major and minor political parties have youth manifestos but they forget them as they come into power. The majority of youth is unaware of these youth policies and manifestos. Pakistan being a developing country, its youth is unable to get better and skilled education because of less financial resources. The purpose of the degree off tracks them from their real goal and after graduation, they are compelled to gain employment on a very marginal income. A report published in Dawn says that more than 60% of the country is aged below 30 years and 4 million youth are entering the working age every year. The face of the country is changing rapidly and this trend does not peak until 2050, so every year the country is getting younger and younger.

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The youth is an asset that is being ignored by the government and this is really alarming. Their potential cannot be wasted and the problem cannot be solved by providing a laptop and few thousand in loans to them, although that is not bad thing. Government must set a route and must collaborate with social organisations working on the same cause to take benefit of this asset and not let them be a problem in future. The government must also learn and adopt the strategies of developed countries so that the youth is able to contribute to the country in ways that they should.

Courtesy The Nation