LAHORE: Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Dr Hassan Askari said that the 21st century is an era of domination of science and technology in every sector. It is, therefore, imperative to provide the latest educational facilities, along with necessary training to the youth so that they could deftly meet the emerging needs and challenges of the 21st century. It is the need of the hour, he added. In a statement on Thursday, the Punjab caretaker chief minister said that the youth plays a pivotal role in national development and the targets of development and prosperity cannot be achieved without their empowerment. “There is no doubt that youth can be made self-reliant and empowered through the provision of quality education,” he added. It is a good omen that 60 percent of the population comprises of the youth which symbolises the bright future of Pakistan. This part of the population can be made self-reliant through quality education, skills development and provision of necessary technical and vocational education. Making the youth self-reliant is their right and the government is duty-bound to provide necessary resources for their empowerment. The Punjab caretaker CM said that skills development sector has tremendous potential to empower the younger generation. “Therefore, we have to move further by employing the concepts of innovations and uniqueness so that a maximum number of youth could be accommodated in the skills development sector. It is also the need of the hour that youth should be prepared as trained human resource according to needs of the market because their proactive role in the practical field will help them to practically participate in the process of national development and prosperity,” he maintained. “I am of the opinion that abilities of the youth should be fully exploited by providing them quality education according to needs of local and international markets,” he said. He said that Pakistani youth is highly talented, intelligent and has full capabilities to excel in life. “It is sanguine that Pakistani youth has brought laurels home in every sphere of life with their capabilities and skills,” he said. The nation expects a lot from its talented youth but it is also needed that different programmes should be launched to refine their latent talents and abilities. It is the collective responsibility of both the government as well as the private sector to provide necessary resources and opportunities for the empowerment of the youth, he added. The CM said that moulding the youth according to needs and requirements of the present era is the need of the hour. The youth should commensurate itself according to market needs so as to secure its economic future and it is also imperative that unique programmes should be introduced to tackle problems of the younger generation. It is satisfying that Pakistani youth has proved its expertise in different sectors in the global market and its role has also been recognized in different sectors. Suitable programmes should be introduced to further improve the skills of the youth and qualitative improvement should be especially taken care of in the education sector, concluded the chief minister. Published in Daily Times, August 17th 2018.