Under the new scheme all men and women, under 25 years of age, holding Masters degree from a HEC recognised universities can join the government as internees at a stipend of Rs10,000 per month for a year.
The opening is neither subject-specific nor it requires the degree holder to show certain level of merit. The scheme will be formally launched by the president, the date for which has not yet been decided.
The government has not given an estimate of intended beneficiaries of the scheme. According to the current National Education Survey there are 114 degree awarding institutions in the country. The total number on Masters’ turnover from these institutions each year was not available. It is, therefore, hard to project the coverage of the scheme numerically.
But does that really matter? If the government means what it says it would work wonders for the country currently starved of skilled manpower. It will dramatically change the future prospects of several thousand students coming out of general universities. It will make up to an extent the deficiency in quality of higher education offered by most public universities.
It will give degree holders an opportunity to acquire training and an exposure to enhance their capabilities brightening their chances of placement in a gainful career. That is if the government makes a genuine attempt to let the programme succeed with the involvement of all stakeholders.
Sadly, the track record of the government in sticking to its promises is not too exciting. Many such schemes were launched with a bang but flopped with a whimper while people waited for the gains of development to reach them.
Earlier the Rozgar scheme was announced by the minister of state for finance Omer Ayub in his budget speech on the floor of the National Assembly. It was launched by the president in September 2006.
It envisaged to create employment opportunities for 400,000 people under 40 years by providing them loans for self-employment. The scheme was expected to cost Rs12 billion to the exchequer. These details were divulged by Dr Salman Shah, advisor to PM Shaukat Aziz in his post- budget briefing in June last year. Boasting about young population of Pakistan as opposed to ageing population of the West is the advisor’s pet subject.
The young population, however, is left to fend on its own, as after six months of official launching, the Rozgar scheme has yet to fly. National Bank of Pakistan, the institution chosen by the government to implement the scheme when contacted said that they were doing all they can.
The Head of Retail Banking, National Bank of Pakistan, Amir Siddiqui confirmed to Dawn that so far the bank has been able to deliver credit under the scheme to about 1,000 individuals out of 400,000 targeted beneficiaries.
The banker said that the scheme is in the testing phase that is expected to be completed by March 31, 2007. So far 142 branches of the bank have been involved in the scheme. Another 915 branches will open their doors to loan aspirants in April this year. He said that professional considerations of putting safeguards for vetting applications, etc. is time consuming and a tedious exercise.
The vigilance in designing lending operation is understandable but a policy of care and caution to extend small loans of Rs5,000 and Rs50,000 in cases where government acts as a guarantor is slightly unsettling. This is the same bank that topped the list of institutions named in national assembly by Omer Ayub Khan for loans write-offs. The NBP is said to have written off loans worth Rs10.63 billion over the last three years.
This raises doubts over NBP’s utility for the people who as depositors support this institution. Instead of serving its depositors, its loyalty seem to be tilted towards big borrowers who are rewarded by write-offs for backing off on their words rendering their loans irrecoverable. When confronted, the NBP hierarchy pointed a finger towards the State Bank of Pakistan who, they said, supervised the write-off business under circular 29. The SBP when approached to clarify, promised a formal response that did not come till filing of this report.
All said and done, inquiries made by Dawn revealed that the response to the Rozgar scheme has at best been jaded. Most people consider the cumbersome paperwork requirements to acquire the measly sum as not worth the pain. The NBP higher-ups blamed slow moving government institutions for slower than expected disposal of loan applications under the scheme.
Coming back to NIP, why did the government announce this scheme? The objective of the scheme explained by the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, as reported in a section of press, is to equip the educated youth with skills for their productive absorption in the mainstream economy.
The scheme, he said will address the frustration caused by uncertainty about future employment prospects amongst university students and save them from the pain of delayed placement. The scheme could revitalise public services as injection of new blood will bring in new ideas to run these organisations more efficiently.
“It certainly would, if it could be implemented”, said a senior faculty member of University of Karachi. She, however, felt that chances are stronger that the programme will fall flat before even the take off. “To me it is just another populist gimmick of a government trying to cover up its elitist orientation”, she said reluctant to own her views for what she calls fear of “going missing” for speaking her mind.
“I know many people with Masters degree in subjects of social sciences pushing carts, driving rickshaws and teaching for wages under Rs5,000”, said a Professor. “I do not find the scheme to be fair unless the government take steps to ensure that all Master degree holders already on job also get equal to or more than Rs10,000 that it promised for fresh starters”, said another educationist.
“Where will the money come from to finance such a scheme? From what one knows donors are ready to tolerate wasting public funds on pampering of government hierarchy, any subsidy directed for people is seen by them as a crime against free market punishable by reduction in the level of cooperation or suspension of the next tranche of aid”, said another critic.
Chances of success of the scheme if launched unfortunately are not very bright also because it was conceived and announced by the centre without involving provinces. At least Sindh establishment was kept out of the process, a very senior source in the provincial government confirmed.
One wonders what political mileage does the government score or what kind of pleasure does architects of such scheme draw by watching desperate needy people running from pillar to post before dashing to the ground weaker than before.
Wouldn’t’ it be better if the government commits only to promises that it intends to keep?