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Pakistan is currently experiencing a drastic demographic change as the population of young people is increasing very rapidly. According to UNDP, 60 per cent of Pakistan’s population consists of people aged below 25 years. It is predicted that within a decade this population will reach up to 70 per cent. This means that a gigantic population is waiting for education and opportunity in the country.
The role of the younger generation cannot be overlooked in the development of any nation. Realising the significant role of young people in their development, the developed as well as many developing countries have shown their firm commitment in providing quality education and opportunities to their youth in order to capitalise their potential.
Unfortunately, Pakistan has been unable to provide even basic education to this important asset. For example, a report prepared by the Education Task Force reveals that more than 25 million children are deprived of basic education in the country. It is, therefore, almost impossible to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of providing primary education to all children by 2015.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s neighbours such as India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are very near to achieving the same target.
This inability means waiting for an explosive storm in the form of a huge uneducated, unskilled and unemployed population of adults in the next few years, which will have multiple implications for the country.
There can be many factors which affect the education process. However, the major factor is lack of political will and commitment of successive governments to do more for education. There is no evidence that the government is very serious about the issue despite declaring 2011 as “the year of education”.
The budget was announced in June but instead of increasing the budget for education, a decrease was observed. We do see some discussions going on at the Education Task Force’s website but they lack any practical steps at the grassroots level. As a nation we have to realise that we cannot progress in any field without providing education to our children. We need to understand that the future of the country depends on an educated and skilled young generation. We need to be conscious about the enormous population of young people, which is growing without quality education and opportunity.
In this regard, we have to learn from other countries which progressed by capitalising the potential of their youth. For instance, Malaysia in the 1970s was experiencing a huge population of young people as we are experiencing today. Comprehending the importance of the youth, serious steps were taken by the government of Malaysia to nurture the youth through educational programmes and other initiatives. Within two decades the country turned into an Asian tiger and today it is progressing significantly in different fields of life. Hence, Pakistan needs serous measures to be taken to benefit from the tremendous potential and talent of youth and use them as an asset for development.
First, recognising the gravity and emergency situation of education, the government should demonstrate its political will and sincere commitment to address the educational issues.
Secondly, a countrywide campaign should be initiated in order to enhance the cause of education at the grassroots level. The media can play a vital role in this regard. An effective monitoring and evaluation system needs to be introduced in the educational system for the continuous progress of education. People should be involved in the process of improvement in the schools.
Thirdly, a meaningful collaboration should be initiated between the government and private educational organisations to address the massive challenges of education by setting common goals.
In short, Pakistan has a valuable asset in the form of potential and energetic young people. Serious efforts are needed to provide quantity education and opportunities to them in order to capitalise their potential for the development of the country. Otherwise the same asset if allowed to remain uneducated and unskilled can also turn into a threat for the country.
The writer is a teacher/youth educator in a community-based educational organisation in Karachi
