No country for young men

Last year, in a study published by columnist Felix Marquardt, Pakistan was named among nations which are considered the ‘worst’ for people under the age of 25. Using data from organisations such as the World Bank, UNESCO and OECD, the team of researchers used 59 indicators to rank 64 countries based on surveys on optimism among the youth, measuring health, educational opportunities and access to employment.

The result seemed hardly surprising as Pakistan ranked among the worst alongside Russia, Egypt, Brazil, Mali and South Africa, whereas Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands were classed as youth-friendliest countries. Still, many argue about the results of the study itself and demand a clearer picture of the parameters used in it.

Generally, it is a positive approach to critically scrutinise studies, rather than taking them at face value. However, we don’t really require a study to look at how bad things are for young people here. For someone like me, who falls in the same age bracket as the study, all I have to do is look around at my peers to find the answers. And ironically enough, there aren’t many people to look towards because most of my classmates, friends, and colleagues have already left the country.

A year on since graduation, most of my university friends are either already living abroad or are in the process of leaving for someplace else. Most of them are doing this for higher education because for those who want to pursue higher studies, going abroad is the best option. With a plethora of fields available for students and opportunities for tuition funding in places like the United States and Germany, there hardly seems any point in staying back in Pakistan.

And for those opting for employment here, we find that there is a general lack of job opportunities, and even then, a lack of chances of growth within an organisation, if we are lucky enough to find work.

These problems might seem trivial now with the country embroiled in issues of security and corruption, however, the future of Pakistan would be bleak if they are not addressed in a timely manner – before there are no educated and competent future generations left to serve the nation.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2016.