Pakistan: An unexplored potential
THE dynamics of our everyday lives have changed over time. It is a constantly evolving process and lately the terms of reference have changed gears more rapidly than ever. In the midst of such a dramatically changing world, we must explore and seek to charter new depths around us. While we have utilized the vast offerings of many of the developing world, Pakistan remains an unchartered territory so far. One can go on to state that despite its contradictions, short comings and impediments, Pakistani youth remains a gold mine yet to be recognized and polished.
Over time data tells us a falling birth rate in many parts of the developed world. This shortage of the human capital was realized by many in the developing world who stepped up to provide their educated and skilled manpower to fill the rising vacuum of workers in the West. Countries like India invested heavily in their education sector and promoted technology to change dimensions. Vietnam worked hard to provide for skills that were needed to export their human capital. Bangladesh went on to bring more than half of their population (women) into the workforce and provide equal opportunities in education and workplace.
Pakistan on the other hand did neither of the above. Today Pakistan has one of the highest out of School children in the world. It has failed to provide quality education or even access to a large part of the population. Pakistan has a very high birth rate with resources poor enough not to cater for the population explosion. Added to that there have been no long term state level policies or affirmative action on the ground. Pakistani girls seem to get the worst part of the deal as millions remain uneducated deliberately due to several social and economic reasons. Having said all that and painting a bleak and realistic picture about Pakistan, one can still safely and confidently claim that it is still a huge market with tremendous potential to provide quality and customized work force for themselves and the world. While it is common practice to rely on the readymade workforce emerging from some of the developing economies, it is surely an unused route to try and garner a custom made work force ready to comply with the specific demands of specific industries globally. Pakistan offers that unique perspective where the large human resource can be molded, trained and given targeted skills that can be of better use for the west than the one fit all mechanized factory produce workforce coming out from many of the competing countries from the less developed world.
Google and many others have been strongly advocating complete abandonment of the 4 year college structures and are openly encouraging students in High Schools to join their ranks and they themselves will impart a more customized training and education that would be far more suitable for them than the same samples churned out by universities imparting traditional education and their version of skills needed for the future. Governments in the developed world, donor agencies, financial institutions and transnational/ multinational companies can walk this route and invest heavily to get their ideal and custom made workforce from Pakistan.
They say every misery provides an opportunity. Pakistan’s catastrophic wastage of a large human resource can be a blessing in disguise for others. The way to go about it is to invest heavily and systematically in the field of education, training and skill enhancement. Local Pakistani entrepreneurs, investors, educationists, Government and other experts can team up with the foreign investing companies and groups. A structured frame work, carefully defined strategy, implementation road map and a regular follow up/ reflective mechanism in place can do wonders for Pakistan and the world.
Pakistan houses an almost 64% of youth in its 230 million plus population. That is an astounding figure of youth population that matches the population of continents alone. Thus schools that provide specific skills and education. Training centres that provide online and face to face custom made trainings/ workshops. Targeted incubation centres etc. are some of the many ideas that can see the light of day. A holistic 10-15 year goal can be set in and sign posted. A large portion of the young population can be targeted via online/ smart phone facility. Pakistan has an impressive teledensity and an even more fantastic smart phone data. Millions in the rural areas can be reached through a click apart from the traditional brick and motor structures in the main stream cities.
A large and untapped female population can be targeted within their homes and trained as per the need. Many local entrepreneurial ventures have worked wonders with the female workforce despite their social impediments. A mini revolution of sorts can be achieved if this systematically ignored segment of the population is tapped into. Once some level of success begins to emerge many other issues that seem to impact Pakistan today will begin to fade away as nothing competes with success. Both the state and society is bound to respond positively once economic gains show their heads. All in all Pakistan remains an interesting riddle for many to solve. It has tremendous abilities and potential. Its people are resilient and extraordinarily hard working. Given the right nurturing, they can compete with the best in the world. In Short Pakistan has a lot to offer and the world should wake up and explore this undiscovered land of the youth.
—The writer is educationist and international baccalaureate expert.
