The younger generation of Pakistan is entangled in various challenges. As per HEC Pakistan, between 2020 and 2024, nearly 445,000 graduates were produced by Pakistani universities annually, which makes around 2.225 million graduates over the five-year period. According to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, among these, the number of computer science graduates each year was about 25,000 to 30,000. However, the number of graduates in IT was 35,000, which is inadequate to meet the market needs. As per HEC, in the 2020-2021 academic year, approximately 3 million students were enrolled in Pakistani universities and degree colleges. Among them, 1.4 million were women and the number of men enrolled was 1.6 million. Of these, in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, over 1 million students were enrolled. Specifically, the number of students studying natural sciences and mathematics was 415,008, in information and communication technologies (ICT) 276,659 students were enrolled, 178,260 students in health sciences, and 166,457 students in engineering. 157,102 STEM students graduated from Pakistan, about 43,000 students graduated in information technology (IT). Despite a considerable number of graduates, challenges still exist.
Enrollment (Age18-25), in higher education institutions, only 12% of individuals of the age bracket 18-25 are enrolled. As per the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), the rate of unemployment among educated youth is noteworthy, with more than 31% unemployed, and women accounting for 51% of the jobless population. Furthermore, the quality of education is also a major concern, as industry-relevant skills that are required by employers are not imparted to the students, leading to employability issues. It feels like Pakistani youth is stuck in a stark and challenging situation. While interacting with students, I realized that most of them lack proper guidance and a clear sense of purpose in their lives. This issue is particularly evident among those from less affluent backgrounds who pursued education in hopes of uplifting their families. However, due to an increase in unemployment, their dreams have been shattered, leaving them disheartened. Moreover, they are not equipped with essential life skills that are required to sustain themselves in such circumstances. This situation has led to cognitive dissonance, especially among the Pakistani youth, who now bear the responsibility of supporting their families but find themselves penniless.
Recruiters, instead of offering fair opportunities to the graduates, view bribery as an expected part of their job and consider it as their right, further intensifying the crisis. Additionally, a notable portion of Pakistani students struggle to compete with international students, yet this issue is largely overlooked. As a result, social unrest is increasing. The younger generation had high expectations from the education system, but the bitter reality has been deeply disheartening. This is the reason why so many young people are struggling to find a path forward. Here are examples of students who attempted suicide as they were highly heartbroken
as they were not able to make ends meet and were also not able to feed their families due to unemployment. According to The Express Tribune, in June 2023, a 23-year-old man named Rahul Masih from Tandlianwala, unemployed for four months without financial support, died by attempting suicide. According to Dawn, from January 2005 to June 2022, in Gilgit-Baltistan, 573 suicide cases were reported, with a noteworthy number attributed to joblessness and academic pressure. Significantly, 79% of these cases included individuals aged 15 to 39.
Sadly, we didn’t teach basic life skills in our schools that are essential to survive in this era of AI, like taxing, coding, cooking, insurance, basic home repair, self-defense, survival skills, social etiquette, personal finance, public speaking, car maintenance, stress management, etc. This is why graduates of this education system are lagging behind in almost every sphere of life. They are highly dependent on jobs, and now, with saturation in the job market, they are down in the dumps. Those who are still part of it know that they are on the road to nowhere. But unfortunately, there are hardly any alternatives, even though it is the need of the hour.
Here are some potential actions to counter the issue. As this is an era of AI, there is a dire need to modernize Pakistan’s education system, and integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) can play a transformative role. With increasing global competition, AI-driven education can bridge the gap between outdated teaching methods that are still being adopted in Pakistan and the demands of the modern global job market. One of the biggest challenges in Pakistan’s education sector is a lack of tailored learning, every individual is educated in a similar way ignoring the uniqueness of each individual. AI can play a crucial role in modifying lessons to individual student needs, making sure there is better understanding and retention. Furthermore, AI-powered tools can help instructors in managing administrative tasks so that they would be more able to focus effectively on teaching. Moreover, AI can improve access to education in distant locations by providing smart learning platforms that do not rely on physical infrastructure. In a country where joblessness among graduates is high and where there is a lack of proper career counseling, AI-driven career guidance can assist students in choosing fields aligned with future job market trends. Moreover, incorporating AI in education can equip students with essential digital skills, preparing them for careers in technology, data science, and automation.
If Pakistan does not adopt AI in education, it risks falling further behind in the global knowledge economy as already Pakistan is lagging behind in this domain as there is a significant number of out-of-school children and those who are going to schools are also not getting quality education. Now is the time to embrace AI for a smarter, future-ready education system. Moreover, the education system must be redesigned to focus on the physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and social selves of individuals so that they will be better able to live a happy and prosperous life.
