30,000 candidates appeared in written test, stadium reached full capacity with the swarm of applicants.

• News By : Web Desk
• 2023-01-03 12:58:53

Islamabad: 3 Jan 2023: Recently a news is garnering attention that for 1667 posts of constable in Islamabad police more than 30,000 candidates appeared in written test (Lac plus appeared in initial physical exam). The test had to be conducted in a stadium which reached full capacity with the swarm of applicants.
That is taken as a heartbreaking indicator of soaring unemployment in Pakistan. Many experts on print and electronic media and masses at social media expressed grief over the situation cursing government and demanding provision of jobs and employment to unemployed jobless youth.
While government is indeed responsible for this alarming situation and it must make things better because it is not doing enough, but the problem of unemployment runs deep and it is not purely a political/administrative issue but the one having deep sociocultural roots.
Some issues pertaining to this problem are:
1. Problem in educational system of Pakistan.
2. Definition of what is called employment a job or "a good job".
3. Mindset.
4. Gap in supply and demand and lack of understanding while choosing careers.
5. Fraud of political parties to gain voters and supporters.
Moving to first problem, which is in education system of Pakistan. The subjects offered and curriculum in them is obsolete, needlessly detailed, and of low quality. Take example of algebra and geometry, it is understandable that a student who has to take higher education in math he should know it but it is useless when we teach it to students who have no intention to take math. Math and science subjects should be more practical oriented. Instead of teaching algebra and geometry to every one it is better to teach them financial mathematics. They should be taught financial analysis and mathematics used in daily routine they should learn how to do analysis of businesses and companies. They must know how to read financial statements, knowledge about taxation, tax laws and business mathematics, accounting and audit, book keeping etc should be taught to all instead of abstract formulas used no where in practical life. Home economics and economics should be taught to everyone, as they have to manage atleast their own house hold in coming years.
Secondly, definition of employment and job is very confusing in our society. To populace at large job means going to office doing 9 to 5 hours duty with drawing a monthly salary at the end. When definition is practically applied individuals earning in lacs and even in millions come under unemployed/jobless category and the one who is drawing few thousands as his salary is considered as employed.
Third problem associated with second one is mindset. As we are confused about definition of employment and job, it is norm that a person who is doing 9 to 5 job drawing salary in thousands is taken as superior and if he has a government job then he is taken as a model, because he has job that is permanent will last till 60 years age and will have pension too until he dies, then his wife and children will also get pension. That adds to social validation of one who does that and makes govt jobs lucrative for people. The lesser fact they know that the salary on which govt employees work if they are not doing part time jobs or "haram khori" is never enough, it is not market competitive, the pensions and lump sum amount they receive are just the sum total of deductions from their life long careers during active service. Salary structure is pegged in such a way that no matter how much you earn inflation will make it shorter to meet your expenses in it. On average increase in salary per annum is 10% while inflation rate is 25%. It means salaries are in reverse trajectories they are actually decreasing not increasing with each passing day.
But as our culture based on ignorance already linked with lack of understanding of economics and financial analysis do not get that because they have been taught only "a plus b whole square equals a square plus two a, b plus b square" and shit like that, so social validation and cultural/family pressure forces extra ordinary talent to settle for these so called secure government jobs adding pressure to government job sector with limited jobs. Instead of doing something for which they are created. That is a big reason we don't have Elon Musks, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Zukerbergs over here. Pakistani versions would be rotting in needless file work undertaken in government offices which gives no benefit to anyone.
Fourth problem linked with above three is there is no concept of career counseling we want donkeys and elephants to fly, and fish to walk on land. Herd mentality prevails which impact decisions of parents on what their child should read and what career path they choose. Do matric with science, intermediate with pre engineering or pre medical, apply for army if rejected become an engineer or doctor and then run after limited govt jobs. There is no focus on encouraging youth to do businesses and grow in time to create small and large brands, make small scale factories cottage industries which are the back bone of generating large scale employment in the country. Rise of China and now rising Bangladesh and Vietnam are examples in this regard. Small scale business and manufacturing is ushering an era of prosperity in these countries.
Finally, there comes the role of politicians who are the scammers of ultimate level, despite knowing the facts and figures that government jobs can not exceed mostly a million or two. They are promising their voters jobs, slogans like "One crore jobs" etc are all scam and facade. A country where 2 million fresh human resource is adding per year in the pool of job seekers it is not possible to give them job in govt sector with total capacity at maximum of 2 million.
So there is a need to understand these points youth and their parents should take wise educational and career decisions, longer, fancy and expensive degrees hold no meanings in modern skill oriented age. You must be skillful not degree holder, start to learn economics and financial mathematics at early age, follow practical businesses how they work and operate and start working as early in your life as you can, if you start doing some work no matter how small it is at the age of 16 during or after matric, by 30 you will be a millionaire (at least in PKR), which is better than a broke PhD who completed his doctorate around this same age and then starts to hunt for job which he does not get and resultantly goes in to depression. Start working early make some money be financially independent and then if you like whole life is there for you to accumulate a heap of degrees at your own expense later with your own money instead of putting financial burden on parents who spend on so called higher "faarigh" education of children and develop expectations that their first job will be directly landing in a wide office with huge authority and servants at disposal, not gonna happen lads, times have changed, so should you!
Malik Hassan Ali

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