Our youth

Author: Daily Times

Sir: According to a report published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Pakistan has the largest number, or highest percentage of youth, in the world. The report states that 64 percent of the total population of the country’s youth is below the age of 30, while 29 percent consists of youths between the ages of 15 and 29, making Pakistan the youngest country after Afghanistan in South Asia.

It is estimated that among the youth, 90% are deprived of recreational facilities, only 15% have access to the internet, 80% have access to a radio, while 48% have mobile phones.

When it comes to the HDI (Human Development Index), Islamabad has the highest, while FATA has the lowest. Among the provinces, Punjab has the highest HDI and Balochistan has the lowest.

Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s youth is in a dangerous and destructive stage. Our enrolment growth rate is at only 0.92 percent and according to reports, if the enrolment in schools and universities continue at the same rate, then it would take more than sixty years to teach all the uneducated children in the country today.

If the youth are not taken care of, they can never grow to benefit Pakistan and help the country progress. Some have already started to become a threat to society, with a rise in the use of harmful drugs. Others have gone completely to the opposite side, and have turned to religious extremism that is the biggest threat facing Pakistan today. The only solution to these problems is that we need more investment in the education sector, in order to secure the future of our great country.

The current situation becomes even more baffling when it was revealed that Pakistan lacks the number of quality teachers required to develop the education sector. However, there is rampant unemployment within the youth community in our country and we could utilize them by hiring them to be teachers.

In the end all the youth needs is governmental support. As per the Japanese Ambassador, “if the youths are not handled properly and not provided with meaningful engagement in society, it will be a disaster for the country”.

ZEESHAN NASIR

Via Email

Published in Daily Times, August 15th 2018.

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