Daily Times

Youth has always been a vitacog in transforming societies. They are young, passionate and enthusiastic, and thus work as the engine of society. Youth often has shaped civilisations. Alexander was in his 20s when he conquered the world and died at the young age of 32 years. Cesar was around 30 when he was a key figure in the roman politics, and by that age, he had also fought many wars. Napoleon was also not very old when he crippled Europe to its knees. The Muslim warrior, Mohammad Bin Qasim, conquered Sindh at the young age of 17. There are many more instances and figures in history where young blood proved to be the force to alter the course of history.

Pakistan has one of the largest youth populations in the world. The potential, if used properly, can do much, but the reality is opposite to what is deemed to be. The youth, supposed to be a change-maker, is being used to set trends on Twitter for political and personal interests. Pakistan currently has a load of youth, which if not used in a constructive manner, would become a burden on the state.

Unfortunately, the situation is worsened when unemployment is added. The youth in Pakistan is mostly aiming at earning a decent life through a decent job. Now imagine that a young graduate struggles for years to get a job but fails to get one. Due to large social and psychological pressures, a person is prone to indulge in destructive activities or be used by anti-state elements against Pakistan. The state of Pakistan, or any other country, needs to realise that if the problems faced by the youth are not dealt with constructively, this youth, which is an asset of the state, will become a liability or a burden.

The current situation of the youth seems like the story of a man with a golden egg-laying chicken; he neglects the opportunity, and forces the chicken to lay normal eggs. Degree holders are driving cabs for online cab services, and while there is nothing wrong in part-time driving, what is concerning is the potential that is being wasted. Governments-whether current or the previous ones-had no plans to restructure the system, from education to other institutions. There are so many universities producing graduates that there is no proper way to funnel that energy and add it to the system.

In 2018, the UNDP published a comprehensive National Human Development Report, which states that Pakistan has the largest youth ever recorded in history. The report also indicates that 64 percent of the total population is below the age of 30. This number of population needs to be engaged in the right direction for the development of Pakistan. It is also recommended in that report that in order to utilise this part of the population, Pakistan needs to create more than 4.5 million jobs over the span of next five years. Pakistan also needs to enroll its large number of out-of-school children in schools to fully utilise the youth potential

Each year, hundreds or thousands of students graduate from universities all across Pakistan, which means that those thousands of students are ready to become a vital part of the state structure. However, the structure lacks a proper system to digest the new load. Recently, PM Imran Khan has introduced the Kamyab Jawan programme through which the youth will be given monetary assistance to manoeuvre their innovative ideas to promote entrepreneurship. Previous governments also took such initiatives, but the due importance to strengthening of structure was never given. That is what is happening right now too. These initiatives are good, but such steps cannot cover the loopholes of the system. Parallel to such steps, there is also a dire need to address the root cause due to which governments are forced to take such measures.

Spending on only education, which is still not uniform across the country, is not enough. The youth should be enabled and encouraged at all levels, from education to their practical and professional life. Only then this resource can be fully used. Otherwise, it would have the same result as in any other field in which our resources are being used.

The writer is a research associate at the Islamabad Institute of Conflict Resolution