In a quiet corner of Sanghar, Sindh, 32-year old *Ayesha Junejo who has a PhD in chemistry spends her days teaching schoolchildren. Her story isn't one of passion, but of despair, a symbol of Pakistan’s worsening pledge that education guarantees quality. Her plight reflects a public tragedy — a generation of largely educated youth trapped in a cycle of severance. Apparently, 69 percent of our youth feel "confused" about their career paths.

Pakistan faces a more empirical extremity as its education system is producing graduates for jobs that don’t exist, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find jobs that match their qualifications. The lack of job openings for educated youth is a ticking time bomb, waiting to severely damage the country's social and profitable stability.

The scale of this extremity becomes apparent when examining Pakistan's education- employment incongruity. On one hand, universities are producing record figures of graduates — over 500,000 annually across various disciplines. On the other, severance among the educated has doubled, creating a situation where a master's degree holder is doubly as unemployed as someone with only primary education. This inverse relationship between education and employment openings points to abecedarian structural problems in how Pakistan's education system interfaces with its labour request.

Women suffer more

The situation is particularly dire for women, for despite making up nearly half of university graduates, only 22 percent of women are part of the formal labour force. This leaves numerous women PhDs who are confined to low-paying training jobs or unable to find suitable employment, to opt to become or remain home-makers.

For women PhDs, the challenges are indeed more daunting. Dr Samina Sohu, a bio-chemistry PhD from Hyderabad, describes how gender bias limits openings. “It is assumed that women are not suitable to handle field work or will not stay working long after marriage,” she says. “In academia, we face subtle demarcation in hiring and elevations."

This systemic bias helps explain why a huge number of women end up as underpaid teachers or leave the pool entirely, representing a massive loss of capital for the nation. When asked whether their PhD education adequately prepared them for the job request, scholars pointed out that Pakistani PhD programmes are far too theoretical, with little connection to real-world operations. Dr Qurat Malik, a computer science PhD from Karachi, explains "I spent time working on largely technical algorithms, but when I applied for higher positions, they want experience with AI and cloud computing— motifs that were only slightly covered in my programme."

This disposition between academic training and request requirements is particularly striking in specialised fields, where rapid-fire technological change makes classes obsolete. How can we explain this intimidating waste of human capital? The roots run deep.

Pakistan’s education system remains largely unchanged over decades, and prioritises rote memorisation over critical thinking or specialised skills. Universities churn out graduates in outdated disciplines, dissociated from the demands of a globalised frugality. The expression "lost in transition" aptly captures the sense of disillusionment and frustration that pervades Pakistan's youth.

Absent jobs

Universities continue to produce graduates for academic jobs that aren’t there. The missing link is the meaningful collaboration between preceptors and employers. A chemistry PhD might exceed in theoretical knowledge but lacks training in arising fields like renewable energy, biotechnology, or artificial intelligence — sectors driving job growth in countries like Germany, South Korea, and Finland. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s artificial base remains suppressed, contributing a measly 20 to GDP, and the formal job request absorbs smaller than 10 of new pool entrants. For women, the walls are compounded by accumulative societal traditions that circumscribe mobility and access to workplaces. The result is a generation of overqualified teachers, lift-share motorists, and overdue housekeepers.

To understand the depth of this extremity, I spoke with dozens of PhD scholars from different disciplines — sciences, social sciences, humanities. Their particular stories paint a picture of systemic neglect and wasted opportunity. Dr Nasira Liaqat Rajput, a chemistry PhD, shares the frustration of many. "The biggest issue is the complete absence of field research jobs,” she points out. “We spend time specialising in narrow fields, only to find that outside academia, there is little demand for us.”

Frozen hiring

This sentiment echoes across disciplines, with PhDs in drugs, economics, and environmental science. The walls to meaningful employment for PhD holders are multitudinous and connected. First is the frozen hiring in academia — the traditional destination for doctoral graduates. Universities, hampered by budget constraints and slow government approvals, have reduced research programmes. The result is that many qualified researchers cannot find jobs.

Another big issue is the lack of private sector involvement in research and development (R&D). In developed countries, companies invest heavily in R&D and hire many PhDs. However, in Pakistan, most industries do not focus on innovation or advanced research. Third is the pervasive culture of nepotism in hiring, where connections frequently trump qualifications.

Lack of training

The lack of practical job training surfaced as another major insufficiency. Dr Mariam Akhtar, an environmental science PhD, notes "We have no training in how to write industrial proffers, manage systems, or communicate our exploration to policymakers. Our education prepares us for academic publishing, not for working real-world problems." This job gap leaves numerous PhDs ill-equipped to transition into progressive fields where jobs are available.

There are several critical gaps in PhD education that, if addressed, could significantly increase employability. It actually requires complete rehaul of how academia and employers interact in Pakistan. Scholars propose several concrete measures as part of PhD programmes, common exploration systemic-funded by universities and private companies, and the creation of a public fund to incentivise private sector investment.

"If universities partnered with automotive or energy companies, PhD scholars could work on factual engineering challenges rather of purely academic problems,” suggests Dr Bilal Khan, an engineering PhD from Karachi. “This would give them applicable experience and make them more exploitable."

The policy changes required to address PhD severance are expansive but attainable. First and foremost is the need to increase education backing — Pakistan's current allocation of just 1.7 of GDP to education is lower than half the global normal and sorrowfully shy for meaningful reform. PhD programmes need complete restructuring to include applied tracks with diligent mentorship and coursework acclimatised to request requirements. A public job mapping exercise could identify high-demand sectors such as renewable energy, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology, allowing universities to direct exploration toward areas with factual growth eventuality.

For women PhDs, gender-responsive programmes are essential — measures such as subsidised childcare, safe transportation options, and targeted reclamation enterprise could help overcome the artistic boundaries that presently keep so many women out of the pool. A promising solution would be to provide startup funding for PhD graduates, helping them turn research into viable businesses. This approach could both reduce unemployment and meet Pakistan's growing need for innovation-led economic development.

Global models

Globally, there are multitudinous successful models Pakistan could emulate. Germany's binary education system combines classroom literacy with internships, ensures scholars’ transition directly into jobs. Finland focusses on schoolteacher training and fostering pupil creativity, whereas Bangladesh, formerly dismissed as a profitable hand basket case, has made remarkable progress by aligning its education system with the requirements of its booming textile industry. These examples demonstrate that with the right programmes, education can indeed lead to profitable mobility rather than be a path to frustration.

Pakistan's current academic system does not work in favour of development and growth in the country. Thousands of bright, ambitious young people invest their time and money in advanced education, only to find out that their qualifications do not fulfill their job requirements. Many leave for greener pastures abroad, the country acquires one of the world's loftiest rates of brain drain, with an estimated 10,000 professionals leaving annually. Those who remain frequently end up frustrated, their jobs and training wasted. This is tragic not just at individual level, but also a colossal waste of public funds and o

Junejo’s story of a chemistry PhD teaching schoolchildren in Sanghar need not end in defeat. With the right reforms, her knowledge could be exercised to combat Pakistan's severe water pollution extremity or develop sustainable biofuels. Presently, her knowledge, like that of thousands of other PhD holders, is being squandered not by lack of capability or ambition, but by systemic failure. As Pakistan stands at a demographic crossroads with one of the world's youthful populations — the choices made for education and employment will determine whether this youth bulge becomes a profitable mark or a social time waste.

Pakistan requires nothing lower than an education revolution — one that bridges the ocean between classrooms and workplaces, recognises the value of PhDs and quality education as the foundation of profitable development rather than a conventional achievement.

We cannot keep wasting our brightest minds. Each jobless PhD represents not just a particular tragedy but a public failure. As we move toward a knowledge-grounded global frugality, our survival depends on fixing this disposition. The time has come to rebuild our education system from the ground up, one that does not just award degrees, but actually prepares graduates to drive public progress.

The way forward is clear. We must align what we educate with what our economic and development sector needs, transfigure our universities into invention capitals rather than degree manufactories, and produce pathways for advanced knowledge to produce real-world results. We must make sure that education becomes what it is meant to be an aim to provide knowledge, skills, and understanding while integrating individuals into societal norms and fostering personal growth. Certainly not lead them to a path of disillusionment.

In the words of champion Seneca," Education is the passport to the future." For Pakistan's PhD holders, that passport presently leads nowhere. It's time to stamp it with urgency, vision, and most importantly, with real openings that allow the nation's brightest minds to contribute to building a better Pakistan. The cost of inactivity is too high — not just for the individualities whose lives are being derailed, but for the nation's unborn substance and stability. The time to act is now, before another generation is lost to systemic neglect and mismanagement.

*Names changes to protect privacy

Rabia Khan is a teacher and freelance contributor

All facts and information are the sole responsibility of the writer