PAKISTAN is blessed with a 64 per cent youth bulge, but chronic policy failures are turning what should be a demographic dividend into a demographic disaster.
There is a blatant disconnect between academia and industry. Our educational institutions are spewing out graduates with degrees that hold little relevance in the contemporary job market.
Consequently, graduate unemployment is high, fuelling frustration and a massive brain-drain. Unemployed bright individuals areforced to seek opportunities abroad, not because they want to, but because they are driven by desperation.
Besides, the critical dearth of recreational avenues,innovation hubs and career counselling centres has left young people susceptible and vulnerable, among other things, to drug abuse, mental health crisis,psychological distress and social media addiction. The government must go beyond empty rhetoric and symbolic laptop initiatives. What we desperately need is a paradigm shift involving modernised and technology-based education, provision of seed capital and incubation laboratories, accessible infrastructure for mental health, and a genuine and authentic inclusion of youth into the governance framework at the grassroots level.
If we continue to ignore this generation at this decisive juncture of journey, we risk jeopardising the entire future of the nation. The time to invest in them is now.
Shahama Arshad Rawalpindi