Achi news desk-
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Consider a country that has less area than Karachi, think of a country that does not have natural resources buried under its soil and drinking tapes from the Pacific Ocean or rain after an arduous process, this is Singapore, which, relying on its youth, has touched the epitome of success.
Similarly, Switzerland provides an exemplary model for effectively exploiting the potential of its youth. It is considered a world leader and benchmark in terms of the provision and delivery of vocational education and training (VET), characterized by on-the-job training and close cooperation between vocational training institutions and industry. This “gold standard” professional education system not only equipped people with practical skills, but also created a smooth transition from education to employment.
Moreover, Germany has adopted two educational tracks in order to utilize the potential of its youth for the betterment of the country. After finishing high school, depending on the student’s abilities and skills, he is encouraged to go to university or professional education.
Unlike these countries, Pakistan endowed with sixty percent and 60% of the youth population, has tried hard to realize the dream of a successful nation.
Elsewhere, the youth of any nation are a great asset to its future. As they represent new blood flowing into the body of a community, keeping it alive and moving forward with hope. On the contrary, it seems that Pakistan’s youth are the least prepared to bear the burden of the future and are considered ticking “time bombs”.
Furthermore, reports indicate that Pakistan is the 46th youngest country with a median age of 20.4 years among 237 countries and territories in the world, according to UN Population Division statistics released this year. Among nine (if Iran is included) countries South Asia, Pakistan is the second youngest, ranking only after Afghanistan. About 63% of Pakistan’s population (aged 15-35) report that they consist of youth (UN Population Fund Report, 2017).
The question looms and lurks for youngsters growing up in big weather is it a good sign, or a challenging situation for Pakistan. The overall gloom that characterizes our country hurts the younger generation perhaps more deeply because it is unable to see a secure future, which leads to a brain drain and a flight of skilled personnel. The process may not necessarily be good for the country because its best assets are lost; However, the flip side is that they tend to support their larger “home” families through remittances and many other ways.
According to the 2017 census, 64 percent of the country’s population was under the age of 30 and more than 60 million or 29 percent of the total population belonged to the 15 to 29-year-old segment classified as youth. According to Electoral Commission data for registered voters released in November 2021, the largest of the six age groups is that of registered voters from 18 to 29; It contains 35.57 million or 29.4 units of all registered voters.
Despite an exceptionally high number of young voters who have the ability to swing election results either way, political parties in Pakistan have played very little role in recognizing their importance and bringing youth to the polls. Gallup Pakistan exit polls indicate that the average turnout of young voters in Pakistan in the last eight elections has been around 31 percent, which is a whopping 13 percentage points behind the average turnout of 44 percent among voters of all ages.
Adding insult to injury, the latest survey, the most “stressed” population in Pakistan is its millennials – those who fall between the ages of 18 and 33. This is a burning red flag: Pakistan is the fifth largest ‘young country’ in the world. A recent report by the United Nations Population Fund claims that out of 200 million people, 63% of Pakistan’s population consists of youth. Of these, 58.5 million are 20 to 24 years old while 69 million are under the age of 15. Stress can be deadly, and if most youth are pushed into stress, there must be something wrong with the way society is raising its youth.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimated in 2016 that approximately 25% of Pakistani youth are illiterate, while 8.2% are unemployed without professional and technical skills. Access to education remains low in the country with the completion rate in primary education among the lowest in the world. Even then, the country spends only 2.2% of its budget on education compared to 3.6% of the fiscal expenditure on security.
It is clearly supported by the statistics that rank Pakistan 147 out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index, lower than many developing countries in South Asia. In terms of employment, the Pakistan Economic Survey (PES), 2015-16 estimates that the total labor force increased from 59.7 million in 2012-13 to 61 million in 2014-15. It is around this time that the reverse migration of educated Pakistanis became visible. Meanwhile, the total number of employed increased from 56.0 million to 57.4 million during this period, signifying the entry of 1.4 million citizens into the productive workforce.
These expressions appeared mainly due to multifaceted factors; that hinder the progress of the country, but develop an unproductive youth axis among all of them. The lack of professional and technical training along with growing ignorance and the increasing rate of illiteracy, the growing unemployment rate and the lack of political literacy paint a stark and sad picture of Pakistani youth. Moreover, it is sad to note that Pakistan has the 9th largest workforce in the world, which is growing every year.
According to the 2017-18 workforce survey, the unemployment rate for 2020-21 is estimated at 9.56%. The saddest part is that the unemployment rate among those with degrees is three times higher than the total unemployed.
In addition, they disobey civil and criminal laws, value dogmatic cultural norms, promote political instability, support populist tendencies and fuel the threat of terrorism and extremism. Some questions raise the eyebrows that the above examples do not hold water that prominent youth in Pakistan is a liability. Does the state have the ability to instill vocational training in youth to turn them into employed citizens? Isn’t the growing youth bulge burdening the already weak economy and strained resources? As he delves deeper into the culture and traditions of Pakistan, the answer to these questions becomes extremely critical.
If the increase in the number of individuals of working age can be fully employed in productive activities, everything else, the average level of income per capita should rise as a result. And youth bulge will become fruitful for Pakistan. However, if a large proportion of young people cannot find work and earn sufficient income, the youth bulge will become a demographic bomb, as a large mass of frustrated youth may become a potential source of social and political instability.
To avoid such disappointment, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan has started emphasizing the linkages between academia and industry, encouraging projects revolving around real-life issues and field exposure and specializations of the faculty to bridge the gap between the existing education system and industry. However, it looks a million miles away in Pakistan.
To sum up the argument, however, every cloud has a silver lining. Therefore, it is high time that Pakistan has to revisit the issue of growing youth bulge. For that matter, creating business-oriented avenues for youth, implementing a fair policy to reduce unemployment, increasing political participation among youth and ensuring ethical and moral training can open the door to prosperity for the country.
By providing young people with competitive skills for self-employment or construction, vocational training can become an attractive choice for young people while also addressing skills shortages in the labor market. Along with this, the problems such as economic challenge characterized by rising inflation, mass migration and a developing youth population can also be converted into opportunities for growth and development, if managed effectively. A “skills first” approach through education and vocational training, as exemplified by Switzerland, holds the key to harnessing the potential of our young population.
Ultimately, it can ensure Pakistan’s economic stability and prosperity, and ensure that Pakistan can become a catalyst and harbinger of progress and prosperity.
