Career guidance and counselling is a transformative process that empowers young individuals to enhance their self-awareness in choosing subjects aligned with their career aspirations. This essential support enables them to gain insights into their interests and skills, facilitating informed decisions for a successful career path.
But despite the presence of numerous transformative educational institutions in Balochistan, there is a notable absence of career counselling services for students and a longstanding tradition persists wherein parents tend to favour medical or engineering careers for their children.
But gradually, this stereotype is diminishing, as a more open-minded approach to diverse career options emerges. In today's interconnected global village, there is access to extensive information about a wide array of professions, which can both be a blessing and a challenge as young people now face the dilemma of deciding on a career path in a world of seemingly endless possibilities.
As a vast array of professional options makes it challenging to pinpoint the best career fit, career counselling becomes crucial to help students in colleges or universities of Balochistan to be able to navigate the myriad choices by assessing their strengths, interests, and other essential variables.
Doctors by force
Students are required to choose science or arts subjects in class 9 and after completing matriculation, they can further pursue engineering or premedical or commerce or art subjects depending on their interest and ability.
"When I was still in school, my family pushed me to choose science subjects and biology so that I could become a doctor,” says Hamal Raza, an intermediate student at Atta Shad Degree College, Turbat. Uncomfortable with pre-medical subjects, he does not find his studies interesting. Inspired by several literary figures in Balochistan, he wanted to study English literature and scored 855 [out of 1000] marks in matriculation.
"I dreamt of getting scholarships and studying abroad," says Hamal whose parents told him that Balochistan does not have suitable employment for English literature. "Of course, I did not think of jobs while I was studying English literature because I just enjoyed reading."
He finds premedical studies difficult but his family is determined to see him become a doctor because of the significance and value of doctors in Balochistan.
Most students in Balochistan choose pre-medical after their matriculation to become doctors, but unfortunately, Balochistan does not have enough jobs for doctors.
According to Professor Dr Shabir Ahmad Lahri, Vice Chancellor of Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences, this year, 9,234 students took the National Medical and Dental College Admission Test (MDCAT) for the medical colleges in Balochistan, only 4,000 were able to pass the exam. Only 500 of the outgoing batch found jobs hence Balochistan has a huge surplus of jobless doctors.
Interestingly, Balochistan has less MMBS and BDS seats as compared to other provinces. Compared to Punjab which has 3,376 MBBS seats in 16 public sector medical colleges and 240 BDS seats in 3 public dental colleges, Balochistan only has 524 seats for 9082 students who take the MDCAT entrance test.
The breakup of the 524 seats allocated for Balochistan is as follows: 300 seats in Bolan Medical College, 50 seats in Makran Medical College, 50 seats in Jhalavan Medical College, 50 seats in Loralai Medical College, 20 seats for higher education, 18 seats for foreign students and 36 for other provinces.
Additionally, around 4,500 MBBS and 800 BDS seats are available in 45 private sector medical and dental colleges in Punjab while Sindh has 2400 MMBS and BDS seats for various district medical colleges.
Parents in Balochistan push their children for science subjects because of career and employment possibilities. But sadly, many students taking science subjects are only doing so because of parental pressure and lack of advice.
Apart from science and engineering, there are several other options such as political science, Balochi literature, English literature, law, economics, physiology, history and philosophy available for students in Balochistan but due to the lack of advice about other departments, most students end up science subjects without having an interest for these. According to several college teachers, students are completely clueless about career choices when they enter colleges or universities for admission. This is because they don’t know enough about career options after choosing other subjects.
"My school teachers and parents have always told me that I have to choose either medical or engineering,” says Mubarak Faryad, a high school student who wants to study Balochi literature. "They believe that these are the only favourable options in Balochistan. It may be so but these subjects do not motivate me at all and I don’t understand biology.”
Hindered progress
Lack of career advice and its awareness leads to inefficiency at individual level and slow or no progress at organisational level. Being on the wrong career path also leads to job dissatisfaction, and mental distress.
"I have graduated in biochemistry from Turbat University, but it was difficult,” says Sammi Saleem, a graduate from Turbat University. She was not interested in studying biochemistry but chose it because there was no career counselling available. Sammi only got passing marks that show her disinterest in her subjects.
“I wanted to study fine arts but found myself in biochemistry," says Sammi who has been through anxiety and depression in her four years at university. It has almost been three years since she graduated but she still hasn’t been able to secure a job because there aren’t enough jobs in Balochistan for fine arts students.
However, Sammi is not the only graduate without a job, many others face the same dilemma. Of the 25,000 students who graduated from different universities in Balochistan in 2021, only 2,000 students were able to find jobs. Currently, at over 4%, Balochistan has the highest unemployment rate in the country.
Disadvantaged youth
There is a greater mismanagement of resources, lack of digital or technical skills, government negligence and a lack of job opportunities and business programmes in Balochistan which makes the youth here more vulnerable compared to other provinces.
Jameel Baloch has a master’s degree in political science from Balochistan University, Quetta, but he has been jobless for two years. "I had no particular interest in political science,” he says, “but I chose the subject without understanding the career choices one has after getting this degree.” Despite his graduation in 2021 from Balochistan University Quetta, Baloch is still unemployed. He applied for various jobs but he could not get one due to the dearth of jobs especially for political science students.
Students who choose subjects without genuine interest or aptitude often experience poor performance or lose interest in subsequent jobs that stem from studying unrelated subjects. The availability of career advice or counselling would enable them to select subjects aligned with their career aspirations, fostering both personal and professional growth. This, in turn, would secure a better economic position and a more comfortable life for them.
No development, no jobs
Each year about 25,000 people graduate from Balochistan but hardly around 2,000 of them can secure jobs This is because of no career counselling, unemployment and only a few jobs available.
Government jobs are the only source of employment in the province which were easy to get in the past because of a smaller population but an increase in the population has made matters worse.
Uncertain and confused
Shahjan, a student at Boys Degree College Hoshab, Balochistan, expressed his realisation about the consequences of choosing a path without considering his true passion. Despite scoring 800 marks in matriculation, family pressure led him to enroll in pre-medical for the prospect of financial stability. But his true passion lay in becoming an Urdu lecturer, evident from his proficiency in the language and his enthusiasm for giving lectures. However, the absence of career counselling in Urdu led him down a different path, highlighting the impact of uninformed decisions on one's career trajectory.
Lacking proper guidance, students may grapple with identifying their interests, strengths, and potential career paths. This lack of clarity can result in confusion regarding the academic and professional avenues they should pursue.
Lack of career counselling may also result in students being unaware of various career options available to them. This can limit their ability to make informed decisions about their educational and professional trajectories.
Students may choose educational paths that are not aligned with their skills, interests, or aptitudes. This mismatch can result in dissatisfaction and a lack of fulfillment in their chosen careers.
The absence of career guidance may contribute to heightened stress and anxiety, particularly during critical decision-making periods such as choosing a college major or deciding on a career path.
Students who lack clarity about their future may experience reduced motivation and engagement in their studies. Understanding the relevance of education to their future careers can positively impact academic performance.
In the absence of career counselling, students might be more likely to drop out of educational programmes or make abrupt decisions about their academic paths without considering long-term implications.
Limited networking opportunities
Career counselling often involves guidance on networking and connecting with professionals in various fields. Without this support, students may miss out on valuable networking opportunities that could enhance their career prospects.
One significant factor contributing to Balochistan not being a developed province could be the absence of adequate guidance and counselling for the Baloch youth. The lack of proper direction results in these young individuals channelling their energy in unproductive directions, hindering the overall development of the region.
Barkat Ismail, the deputy-director schools and higher education department in Balochistan and the founder of Dynamic English Language Teaching Academy Kech has taken the initiative to visit several areas in Balochistan to conduct career counselling sessions with students.
"I believe that students must be given knowledge as to what career choices are available to them at the right time so that they can pick and choose what they want to do in terms of earning a livelihood to following a career path," says Barkat, who welcomes support from organisations and authorities in this regard.
The government and other relevant stakeholders can take the initiative of introducing career counselling in educational institutions or by organising career advice camps from time to time, that could later develop into a small but permanent office in the educational institution offering advice to the district or on a regional basis so as to be able work on limited funds.
Tabish Feroz is a freelance journalist based in Turbat
All information and facts are the sole responsibility of the writer