Development In Focus: ‘Engage youngsters at all levels’
Youth engagement should be integrated into curricula of educational and technical institutions, says CEO YES network.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan is one of the few countries with a youth bulge, but the majority of young people are uneducated and deprived of even vocational skills.
The state with its meagre resources cannot educate them all or provide employment to every one of them as a result of which they turn to crime or just wait for opportunities to reach them, said Ali Raza Khan, the CEO of YES Network, a non-profit organisation. He was speaking to a group of journalists on Saturday.
“This huge potential has not been tapped. It is high time to engage the youth at every level and it can be done through simple and cost-effective models of youth engagement,” said Khan.
“Youth engagement should be integrated into the curricula of educational and technical institutions,” said Khan. He said the biggest crisis facing the country is not economic, but a youth crisis. “Internships should be replaced with engagement programmes.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2012.
Pakistan is one of the few countries with a youth bulge, but the majority of young people are uneducated and deprived of even vocational skills.
The state with its meagre resources cannot educate them all or provide employment to every one of them as a result of which they turn to crime or just wait for opportunities to reach them, said Ali Raza Khan, the CEO of YES Network, a non-profit organisation. He was speaking to a group of journalists on Saturday.
“This huge potential has not been tapped. It is high time to engage the youth at every level and it can be done through simple and cost-effective models of youth engagement,” said Khan.
“Youth engagement should be integrated into the curricula of educational and technical institutions,” said Khan. He said the biggest crisis facing the country is not economic, but a youth crisis. “Internships should be replaced with engagement programmes.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2012.