World youth skills day
PESHAWAR
Like other parts of the country, world youth skills day was also observed in Khyber Pakthunkhwa where public and private institutions and youth bodies organized functions and seminars highlighting significance of investment in youth’s technical education for sustainable economic development and prosperous future of the country.
The civil society and youth organizations also staged a rally in front of the press club in connection with the day, stressing the significance of youth’s role in peace, development and economic progress of Pakistan.
Every year, the day is marked on July 15 aimed at promoting empowerment of young people worldwide by focusing on their education and skills development besides employment.
Designated by the United Nations General Assembly in November 2014, the day emphasized the significance of equipping youth with necessary skills to tackle unemployment and poverty besides achieving sustainable development goals.
The theme of the day was ‘Youth skills for peace and development’ which highlighted the role of youth in peace building and resolution of conflicts.
“In an era of rapid technological advancements and evolving economic landscapes, the traditional approach of education is undergoing a profound transformation owing to mushroom growth of digitalization, artificial intelligence and Information technology.
This paradigmatic change in the education system reflected a growing recognition to equip young learners with a meaningful knowledge, and inculcate positive energy to navigate an increasingly competitive jobs market,” said Professor Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim, former Director Elementary and Secondary Education KP while talking to APP.
He said that gone were the days when a college or university degree alone guaranteed a secure career path for a youth.
“Today, employers prefer graduates, who possess a diverse skills set, adaptability and willingness to perform in comparative industrial and digital markets with a will to innovate and deliver quickly,” he said.
Inspite of an enormous significance of higher and technical education in the country’s socioeconomic development, majority of public sector universities in KP were facing financial crisis, which are adversely affecting process of learning and research studies besides negatively impacting on MS, M.Phil and PhD programs.
Out of total 34 public sector universities including 24 general and 10 specialized in engineering, technology, agriculture, medical, animal husbandry and management sciences for 40,856,097 population with 1,298,278 persons per university, seven public sector universities including UET Peshawar, Gomal University DI Khan, Agriculture University Peshawar, University of Science and Technology Bannu, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University Peshawar and University of Shangla were facing financial crunch due to pension liabilities, non conduction of actuarial studies and depleting budgets balances.
The KP Universities 2021-24 Report has disclosed that the initial balances of budgets of 34 public sector universities and HEIs, which was about Rs6,560 million in 2021-22 was decreased to about Rs5,316 million in 2022-23 and was further slashed to Rs4,740 million in 2023-24.
The substantial decrease of opening of balance budgets of these universities has not only created serious financial implications but also encompassed financial fluctuations as well as economic stagnation for research studies, salaries and pensions.
Likewise, the provincial grant to public sector universities which was about Rs3,962 million in 2022-23 reduced to Rs3276.125 million during 2023-24, and only Rs1231.897 million recorded during 2021-22.
The financial crisis in most universities of KP has been further deepened after nonpayment of the promised annual provincial grants of Rs3,000 million, impacting negatively on the universities’ abilities to maintain infrastructure, support academic programs, research studies and ensure quality in education disciplines.
Similarly, no provincial grant was received by the University of Agriculture Peshawar in 2021-22 and 2023-24 besides University of Buner and UET Peshawar.
Moreover, University of Engineering and Applied Sciences Swat, University of Chitral, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology Haripur and Gomal University DI Khan had received no provincial grants during 2021-22.
The annual receipts of these universities was about Rs46 billion while annual expenditures remained Rs41 billion in these three years. Despite reforms and interventions, KP’s universities saw only modest revenue growth i.e. Rs7 billion in 2021 and Rs2 billion in 2022, thus falling short of the mandatory progressive targets.
As many as 20 out of 34 universities were likely to face budget deficits while 27 universities allocated more than 50pc of their budgets to establishment expenditures, needing realignment of priorities on priority basis.
“The job creators would emerge only by providing financial autonomy to public universities and focus on modern research as per the market’s demands,” he said.
The opening of new universities at far flung and remote areas for political purposes has negatively impacted on research studies besides MS/MPhil and PhD programs in KP.
The universities in KP was spending about Rs3.2 billion per year by hiring visiting faculty, compensating thesis supervisors, engaging contingent staff and addressing miscellaneous contingencies and this huge amount could be diverted to research work after hiring services of existing staff, better human resource management and financial discipline to produce jobs creators.
The assets of several universities are under performing such as Islamia College Peshawar’s 224 shops in Khyber bazaar, market in Charsadda, 4000 kanals each land in Charsadda and Swabi, University of Peshawar;s 3.5kilometer Baragali, PUTA Hall and resolution of assets issues of Gomal University DI Khan, Agriculture University Peshawar, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Hazara University Manshera and Bannu University besides improving governance and removing flaws in appointment of the vice chancellors.
Ehtisham Qaiser, a BS graduate of Urdu literature told APP that he had applied for the government and private jobs through various testing agencies and walk in interviews but his applications were rejected due to lack of professional experience.
He urged Govt to increase stipends of national internship program and explore new jobs markets for youth abroad.
The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) 2021 Report revealed that the number of out of school children (OSC) had swelled to about 4.7 million children aged between 5 to 16 years in KP which was a matter of great concern for educationists and policy makers.
Alarmingly, about 2.9 million girls and one million OSC in merged tribal districts were still out of schools, BISP report said, adding 74.4 percent of girls and 38.5 percent boys are out of schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Investing in education infrastructure, such as schools, libraries, and vocational training centers, is inevitable to ensure access to quality education for all.
The curriculum reforms including starting computer science from primary level would help children to take advantage of job opportunities in the IT sector and CPEC projects.
Shahab Khan, senior planning officer of the Education Department told APP that about 200 alternate learning pathways centers would be opened for enrollment of street children while two room schools would be converted into six rooms.
He said construction of 100 new primary schools was proposed while 150 middle schools to be upgraded to secondary schools in settled districts of the province besides establishment of an early childhood education program planned.
Shahab said the students would be trained in digital technology with assistance of technical education and vocational training authority (TEVTA) to take advantage of the IT market in Pakistan.
