17.11.2013 Youth affairs
With over half the population less than 20 years old,
various sets of skills, loans and guidance are needed to make them useful citizens
By Dr Noman Ahmad
Reasonable follow up is in process on the important initiatives announced by the prime minister a few weeks ago, pertinent to youth. Fee reimbursement and disbursing scholarships among young folks from less developed areas, laptop computer distributions, skill development options and loans for small businesses are welcome moves.
The critics are of the view that instead of direct subsidies, the prime minister may have used these investments to generate a snowballing effect. Criticisms and supporting arguments aside, it is vital to note that more than half of the national population is less than 21 years old. For obvious reasons, they have very different needs compared to other demographic categories.
Opportunities of appropriate education, skill development, enabling environment to sustain a healthy lifestyle, sports and recreation facilities and above all, a promising scenario for a prosperous future are some of the essentials rightfully demanded by the young people of our country. There are many crucial areas related to youth affairs that need intervention on top priority.
Higher education sector needs attention. The total number of institutions of higher learning is not more than 200. Not more than 5-7 percent young people have the basic probability to enroll in a university. Even within this narrow opportunity, the guarantee for quality education is extremely limited. The system of vocational and technical education in public sector has been partially reformed by creating technical and vocational authorities at provincial level.
However, this vital sector is anachronistic with the job market requirement and needs of the enterprises. In the past, several polytechnic institutions were established with the collaboration of developed countries which not only helped in setting up the institutes but also sent senior staff to manage them for some time.
Degenerate law and order situation and forceful entry of student politics soon paralysed these seats of learning. In a horrifying accident some years ago, the European principal of a joint venture institute was shot dead in broad day light in Karachi. Growing intolerance and declining ability of the government has adversely affected the normal running of institutions. Riots, political skirmishes and resulting closures of educational institutions brew frustration amongst the ranks of positive minded young people. Unless the government does not strictly enforce order and restore peace in campuses, the youth will continue to suffer.
More than 39 million young and adolescent women constitute the swelling youth protuberance in Pakistan. They can be marked as the most deprived and vulnerable section of the population. Growing intolerance towards women folk, reduction in social status by design, governmental impotence towards ensuring rights to live and shrinking spaces — even for biological existence — are some of the growing menaces for our young womenfolk. Chances to basic literacy are reduced to half when compared to male counterparts.
Malnourished status and willful neglect towards necessary issues of healthcare make the possibility of healthy survival dwindle each passing day. Armed with the false pretension of morality, the reactionary elements in various parts of the country have created multiple taboos to enslave the basic rights of womenfolk. The political and social environment is becoming suffocated despite hypocritical claims of enlightenment. It is obvious that the regime aims to set aside the burning issues pertinent to this disadvantaged section of youth as no light appears at the end of the tunnel.
Abject poverty and utmost restrictive chances of social mobility affect a sizable segment of young people. Low scale of economic productivity, resourcelessness, lack of adequate support services and absence of monetary or knowledge capital do not allow a substantial number of young people to cross subsistence level in life.
It may be noted that perpetual poverty generates a feeling of helplessness that eventually causes frustration of acute kind. The common attitude of the young people on streets, walkways and other public places clearly depicts this shortcoming through body languages. Feverish marketing of plush life styles by the media has also raised the demands of young people.
High rate of crime, violence, lawlessness and indisciplined behaviour emerge when demands remain unmet. Poverty generates several drastic outcomes. Many young people fall prey to extremist outfits that lure them into violence and terrorism. Spread of social and moral disorders is also a direct outcome. General anarchy in the society intensifies as youth loses faith in laws, systems and codes of conduct. It also causes a massive loss of talent which majority of these young people inherently possess.
To tackle these issues, our government announces projects and programmes meant to create jobs. But this approach has severe limitations of scale and outreach. Even the most powerful and resource laden regime cannot extend direct employment to its entire population. Instead the attempts are geared towards the creation of an enabling environment, removal of inefficiencies (such as lack of infrastructure), reduction of regional disparities, strategic use of subsidies, effective control of corruption (to restore public trust) and generation of a fool proof law and order situation that could channelise human and capital input for corresponding outputs.
Sadly, the regime has betrayed its citizens — especially youth — on every count. Due to ineffective security, poor internal and external policies and selfish safeguard of self interest, more than 10 people, mostly youth, die every day in acts of terrorism. Perception of anarchy and lack of security have risen to such a level that world community has reduced direct participation to a bare minimum. Foreigners from all parts of the world receive advices not to travel to Pakistan. The confusing and most disappointing state of our sports management affairs is a case in point. No one is sure whether Pakistan will be able to access the Olympics given the in fights amongst factions of our sports managers.
Youth is a resource. At present, bulk of the world population is young. Many countries have taken effective measures to deal with problems of this vibrant cross section of the society and have come up with simple but far reaching strategies. For example, Cambodia launched a youth volunteer service to help rural youth increase food productivity by learning appropriate techniques in agriculture. Many other countries have also followed similar approaches. To ensure early productivity, young people are provided multiple choices to acquire skills while at school.
Technical and Vocational Education (TVE), apprenticeship programmes, small scale entrepreneurship, consolidation of work opportunities in informal sector, incentives to prevent dislocation from home towns/settlements, gender specific policies to support young women and creation of financial products by banking sector have all proved useful in helping youth realise their potential and move up the ladder of social mobility. Unabated development and sustenance of physical and social infrastructure is also vital to help marginalised and less advantaged youth utilise its capacity for economic productivity.