Pakistan’s faltering economy faces a youth unemployment bomb, ticking louder with each passing year. A damning report exposes how skills shortages and unrecognized degrees are turning demographic promise into peril, breeding economic paralysis and social friction.
Annually, 800,000 grads flood the market, but doors to Japan and South Korea stay shut. Why? Pakistani talent misses the mark on essential skills—technical certifications, language mastery, and international accreditations. The Express Tribune spotlights National Assembly committee warnings on these gaps.
Degrees that shine locally flop abroad. Vocational training? Antiquated and uncompetitive. Solutions demand curriculum redesign with industry input, emphasizing high-demand sectors abroad. No more ivory-tower universities; they must sync with labor realities.
Education funding scrapes 1.9% of GDP, far shy of global norms, sidelining 26 million children. Curricula skim over digital tools, critical analysis, and hands-on learning, dooming workers to obsolescence. Surveys reveal 64% grads battle skills deficits for jobs; youth unemployment nears 31%.
Meager research bucks, industry-detached academia, and undertrained faculty pile on the woes. Pakistan must pivot to deep reforms, forging a skilled workforce ready for tomorrow’s challenges and averting a lost generation.