Hope lives on: Youth look past their problems towards a brighter future

The event was organised by the Youth Parliament to encourage youngsters to dream big

HYDERABAD: The youth continues to exude exuberance. The travails of everyday life, poverty, lack of recreational facilities, substandard higher education, law and order and terrorism have not faded their hopes for a better future.

"I came here fearing that I would be posed with tough questions and scathing criticism. But to my utter surprise, here the youth are telling us how to move forward, develop the country and bring prosperity," said Jam Khan Shoro, the provincial minister who was the chief guest at the event titled, 'Youth Convention: Hopes and Challenges'. The event was arranged by the Youth Parliament, a non-profit organisation, at Indus Hotel on Monday.

While the young men and women shared their ambitions, aspirations, problems and solutions, the speakers representing various segments of society guided them with ideas and hopes for accomplishment of their dreams.

The minister narrated one instance which, according to him, reflected the changing dynamics in society. "Majority of the doctors of veterinarian medicine (DVM) appointed for the desert region of Tharparkar are women. One of them acquired her higher secondary education from the US and completed her PhD from Pakistan," said Shoro. Until recently, only male doctors worked on the DVM posts in Tharparkar.

Youth Parliament chairperson Rizwan Jaffar introduced the audience to the top 10 accomplished youth of Pakistan in the year 2014. He believed these role models, who included martyrs, such as Aitzaz Hassan, fund raiser Harris Suleman, mountaineer Samina Baig, were inspirations for the people of their age group.



"I want to excel in education like Haroon Tariq [who set a world record by securing 38 As in A' Level exams]. But I am more concerned to see the 30,000 ghost schools in Sindh function again," said Abdul Aleem, a student of Szabist.

Sidra, a young lecturer at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, said her social contribution this year will focus on the work and conditions of the textile industry's labour force. She believes the workforce of this huge industrial sector remains unrecognised.

A Sindh University student, Irfan Hussain, objected to seeking what he described as 'development candies' from the United Nations, United States and other foreign donors. "We should harness the local resources and people. The urban communities should contribute towards rural development," he suggested.

Depicting an upside of the education sector, the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education's examinations controller, Masroor Zai, said that the number of children completing education up to Matric has been on the rise over the last few years. According to him, 105,000 students were enrolled with BISE for 2013 exams. The number rose to 126,000 in 2014 and will likely cross the 132,000 mark this year.

"When I was a student, my father used to say that acquiring education is very easy. But I always disputed. Having entered practical life now, I realise the veracity of my father's assertion," said Adeel Emad Siddiqui, a young member of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Many among the youth pointed to corruption in the government departments as the reason for social problems. MPA Farheen Mughal accepted the blame, although she claimed the youth also contributed to this sad state of affairs. "I have seen how young men get enrolled and receive stipends from four separate technical training programmes under the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme. This is also corruption."

The Youth Parliament announced that it will enroll 500 members from Hyderabad division this month.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2015.