IT is sad to see thousands of engineering students graduating every year but only a handful of opportunities available in the job sector. Quality is immensely compromised and surprisingly many universities, which are even smaller than a primary school, are awarding Pakistan Engineering Council-accredited degrees to hundreds of students every year.

These conditions have promoted despondency, and merit has been overlooked by job givers. An engineer who doesn’t have a relevant background ends up staying jobless for years and tries get jobs abroad or quit the profession.

Engineers are the foundation of a country and if higher authorities want to see a better future for Pakistan, the PEC should either set a limit to producing engineers every year, or creating more job opportunities in the industry.

There should be a proper monitoring and regulatory system to act as a bridge between industries and educational institutions. Balance promotes harmony and we are in dire need of that.

Zeeshan Nayyar

Lahore

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2016