Unleash the youth potential bears good omen for Pakistan.

• Author: Nisar, Ahsan

Byline: Ahsan Nisar

Nation-building is referred to the process of getting all the citizens involved in the socioeconomic prosperity of a country. However, it is youth which is considered as nation builders in its truest sense. The young minds have passion, energy, acceptance for new innovative ideas, dreams and hope. According to a recent report, 64% of the population in Pakistan is below the age of 30. Furthermore, 29% of the total population comprises people aged between 15-29 years. This is quite a healthy sign. However, if not utilized, the same young minds can create serious problems for any country. Today Pakistan faces uncountable number of issues such as economic crisis, terrorism, targeted killings, street crimes, etc. These issues have their root cause in the non-utilization of youth.

With the contribution of human capital in total wealth growing globally, the creation of a skilled labor force that is more productive and better able to adopt and adapt to new technologies is at the core of a long-term growth path for Pakistan. To this end, improvements in education and learning need to go hand in hand with improvements in health and well-being to maximize the cognitive potential of both men and women in the population. Pakistan has made progress on these fronts, but it is uneven and slow. If Pakistan is to grow in an inclusive manner, the government must prioritize and invest equitably in the development of its human capital - the country's most important resource.

By spending less on education, we are losing on two counts. On one hand, our semi-skilled labor force could not fetch the much-needed foreign exchange for the country; while on the other hand, those wishing to pursue their dreams over here are constrained by illiteracy. It is important that the Federal Government increases education budget to 4% of GDP. Only then provinces will be able to increase their allocations, as promise of increasing education budget to 4% of GDP was made by the government.

However, ongoing skills development programs such as the Prime Minister's Youth Skills Development Program (PMYSDP) is a project aimed at training the young population. It is carried out across the country and is executed by the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) and Ministry of Education and Training in collaboration with Provincial TEVTAs and other government/private sector skills training...