Naseeb Ullah Achakzai
Youth is an asset provided that its potential is used productively. Pakistan is in the top 10 states where 63 percent of its population is below 40 age. Unfortunately, it is being wasted owing to a lack of holistic strategizing. Though the country has reasonable policies concerning youth empowerment, dolefully, at the same time, these policies remain policies to document. Youth affair Policy of Pakistan 2015 talks about the challenges that are faced by the youth and also envisages a roadmap for that. It says that the youth is facing economic challenges. It proposes to empower them, provide employment, and make them a reasonable labor force to free them from the structure feudal system. It says that the female unemployment rate is 74 percent while, 51 percent of youth are involved in agriculture, fisheries, and livestock. In addition, it talks on page 13 about social challenges that include education, health, drug addiction, sports barriers, gender biases, and early marriages. In addition, it also talks about the lack of youth participation in politics. While Balochistan youth policy 2015 envisages Youth empowerment and mobilization. In addition, the UN youth strategy 2030 includes providing. Skills, job facilities, equity, and equality. The policy highlights the importance of national integration of young, target-oriented programs that will be initiated under skills development which will bridge the gap between demand in the national and international job market and labor supply. Skill development will also be promoted by providing vocational education.
Currently, 67 percent of youth in Pakistan are under 30 which is the ten largest youth labor force in the world. While the Youth unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in 2022. The ILO reported in 2019 that 31 percent of master’s degree holders in Pakistan are jobless. For instance, last year, for 1637 posts of constable 1 lac candidates appeared in Islamabad. This sorry state of affairs has resulted in a brain drain. The IMF investigates that the migration rate with territory education to the IECD countries of Pakistani is huge is 7 percent to the OECD countries. While in India it is just 2.7 percent.
Appreciably, the incumbent government of Pakistan has started a program known as the youth development program that includes the provision of 60 internships, preparing 1 lac youth for technical education, providing 1 lac laptops, 5000 scholarships for Fata and Balochistan, research grants, loans, construction of 250 sports complexes. Though the government of Pakistan has been providing loans to the youth it is still short of bearing fruit. The government should provide those loans with a guarantee from the receivers that they will start Small businesses through this loan. Youth affairs are part of the culture department which became a sector of the Ministry of Culture in 1984. The 18th Amendment devolved youth affairs to provinces.
The National Youth Policy, 2008 recommends that Article 37 of the Constitution of Pakistan which aims to ‘remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period should be implemented in true spirit. It further suggests that Syllabus should be formed according to industry requirements to promote skills development programs for which technical and vocational education and training (TVET) are essential which has also been envisaged by UNESCO. More, there is a dire need for effective human resource planning and Labour Market Information Systems in the country.
The dearth of skilled manpower in the province is a huge issue. The Balochistan government should establish polytechnic institutes for the skill development of youth. As for as Balochistan is concerned, the situation of budget allocation is dismal. In the fiscal year of 2022_23, the provincial budget for youth development was a mere Rs 24 million despite the Sports budget that was Rs 450 Million. Balochistan, which is already lagging behind in many spheres, the situation regarding youth empowerment is gloomy. At current, 50% of Balochistan youths are illiterate, while, 62.5% of young women in the province lack basic literacy skills. Whilst, Youth unemployment among females is higher than that of males (74%). Whilst, Balochistan had a good policy with respect to women empowerment that was adopted in 2008. At present, the status of women’s education is lustreless too. Less than 2% of rural women are educated and only 26 % overall female literacy in the province. The policy has a good roadmap in terms of domestic violence against women, and the Human Rights situation. But, it remains to documents yet. The government of Balochistan gender equality and women empowerment policy 2020_24 is another well-composed document about women’s equality and empowerment. It proposes to create employment and income-generation opportunities for women and girls in the formal economy.
It further suggests to the (S&GAD) to increase/observe women’s quota in all public services at a minimum of 10%. In addition, it writes that in the sphere of social empowerment in Balochistan, there is less than 2% representation of women in the bureaucracy, and most of the political decision-making, budget-making processes, and planning lack the gender perspective. Many hurdles have hampered youth development and its empowerment in the province. For instance, the paucity of industries and businesses along with the dearth of skill development are leading to unemployment in the province. Consequently, Pakistani youth, particularly those from Balochistan, are incompatible with the demands of the modern marketplace because of a lack of skills. There is a dire need for educational institutions to consult with industries and the private sector regarding syllabi and to make it as per market demands. For example, the majority of the students at the university level in Balochistan opt for MA in Social Science and MSC in pure sciences. They just get a degree which in the end helps them with getting a job teaching or lectureship for the majority of students.
There are very less departments that fulfill market demands. They are short of career counseling. Career counseling in college and university plays a pivotal role in the future development of youth. Most of the young students do not know how to go after their careers.
In addition, Madaress has huge youth. The syllabus of Madaress has not been up to the market needs. What is needed is reforms in the syllabus according to emerging needs. Although some subjects such as English and computer have been included by Wafaq ul Madrais Pakistan it still the students in these religious institutions lack basic skills. The youth in the province has been struggling with career choices and unemployment. Their hidden potential has been wasted due to a lack of opportunities. The government must establish a youth development council at the tehsil level for career counseling as well as for creating awareness and paying heed to their needs and demands. Another area that has hampered youth development is a dearth of access to healthcare. Many adolescents and youth, particularly females, suffer from a lack of access to quality healthcare. A large number of youth are tilting towards drug addiction and have been suffering from diseases such as AIDS and Hepatitis. This sorry state of affairs needs serious attention from the authorities. Many young people experience the effects of climate change and other pandemics. Balochistan, where most of the youth is attached to agriculture and livestock has been facing huge economic constraints owing to the calamities of climate change with these two sectors. There is a dire need to focus on adaptation and mitigation measures in Balochistan.
Unemployment which has been the highest in Balochistan is a serious issue that has stopped youth development and has hampered their energies. Balochistan is a heaven of natural resources where according to the ex-DG of the Pakistan geological survey Dr. Imran there is around 50 trillion USD of untapped natural resources in Balochistan. If these resources are untapped, not only the unemployment in Balochistan will overcome but also the country. More, the Fishing industry in Balochistan has huge potential of generating employment and revenue. Investing in the fishing industry can change the fate of the youth in Balochistan. The private sector though provides jobs but the wages are less. There must be a policy on the part of the government to order the private sector in providing reasonable wages to employees. In addition, if Article 173(2) is fully implemented, Balochistan would be in a position to eradicate poverty and unemployment once and for all which will also diminish feelings of alienation among the youth of the province. Moreover, preserving the share of youth development in the NFC across the country will not be a bad idea. Allocation of separate funds for youth empowerment in the NFC would be the right decision.