KARACHI:
Globally, information technology (IT) has become the main driver of development and progress. Countries like India and China have made major contributions to the IT sector, which has allowed them to boost economic activity and uplift their populations. Unfortunately, Pakistan is lagging in the IT sector due to the lack of state investment.
We have yet to fully implement IT teaching methods and techniques in our mainstream education system. Only a handful of upscale private schools have adopted IT teaching and learning, but these are not accessible to a majority of the population. Although some higher education institutes have introduced full-stack development, data science, data analysis, etc, most graduates are unable to find adequate jobs and have little scope for progress. The absence of widespread opportunities is another issue because there are few local IT companies. Resultantly, the number of IT graduates is constantly rising, but employment opportunities remain scarce.
Increased globalisation and digitalisation have allowed the IT industry to continue making strides with global input and investment. Therefore, we must catch up with the rest of the world before it becomes impossible to do so. The government should establish IT and information communication technology institutes to make courses accessible to everyone. It should also work with local companies to innovate and adopt different forms of technology. This can help the country open up newer avenues for investment and employment.
Faheem Ali Soomro
Karachi
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2022.
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