INTERNSHIPS have become a systemic problem in Pakistan. Instead of providing a pathway to career advancement, unpaid internships exploit young professionals without giving them any significant exposure. Even when interns are paid, the amount is nothing more than peanuts, considering the workload they handle.

A recent research conducted by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) revealed that more than 60 per cent of undergraduates having had internship exposure reported receiving little to no compensation. This is sheer and utter exploitation.

For students with economically dis-advantaged backgrounds and those who belong to rural areas, the burden of food, transportation and accommodation is too much to handle, and they often have no choice but to turn down such opportunities. Their failure to have sufficient corporate expertise in the early stage of their career significantly affects their chance to keep their professional career on the right track.

In addition to the financial strain, internships with no or meagre honorarium exert a substantial influence on the psychological and emotional wellbeing of these young individuals.

A meta-analysis of 7,652 students attending college across Pakistan showed that 42.7pc repondents reported signs of depression, which was considerably higher than the worldwide median of about 27pc for medical school graduates.

In Pakistan, corporate internships remain an unregulated area. There are no laws binding establishments to pay their trainees, and there are no guidelines about internship duration.

Internships are meant to assist students in gaining professional experience, not to function as unpaid labour carrying out full-scale duties for months. There is a need to ensure that internships offer organised learning opportunities, coaching and skill-development planning along with due financial compensation.

The exploitation of interns in the name of ‘professional experience’ must cease. Otherwise, internships in their present form would continue to widen the disparity between privileged and deprived students. Reforms are crucial and, thus, necessary.

Maha Saleem
Lahore

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2025