Wasted youth: Reflections on the British Council report

[TaimiKhan]

Wasted youth: Reflections on the British Council report
By Nadeem F. Paracha
Saturday, 21 Nov, 2009


Released today (Saturday 21 November), the Pakistan British Council’s hefty report titled, Pakistan: The Next Generation, encapsulates the economics, demographics and, more importantly, the opinions of the youth of Pakistan.

The report suggests that Pakistan is in a distinct situation where it can explore what is called the ‘demographic dividend.’

This means that the country is going through a period in which there is a positive ratio of productive youth — or currently there are more industrious youth than dependants.

According to the report the window of opportunity in this respect opened in 1990, but unfortunately the country has done nothing to exploit this opportunity.

Being perhaps the first truly representative survey and report of its kind in the country, it divulges that merely 15 per cent of the Pakistani youth believe that the country is headed in the right direction.

Accurately capturing the identity dilemma the youth of Pakistan has been going through, especially after the tragic 9/11 episode and its fallout in Pakistan, the report sees the country’s youth to be passionately inclined towards nationalism but having very little trust in national or local government, the police and even courts, in spite of the reinstatement of the celebrated senior judiciary that was dismissed by the Musharraf dictatorship in November 2007.

About three-quarters of the Pakistani youth define themselves as being Muslims first and then Pakistani. Fourteen per cent see themselves as Pakistani citizens first.

The democratic dividend window that opened in 1990, according to the British Council report, is set to close sometime in 2045. This means those at the helm of economic and governmental affairs now have 35 years or so to stem the waste and start devising policies in which the country can harvest the political, social and above all, economic benefits that come associated with this opportunity. The report predicts that the positive consequences of wisely exploiting this opportunity may give Pakistan an economic growth increase by a fifth by 2030.

Also in the report are the variety of opinions held by the Pakistani youth on matters of hope, fear, religion, education and international politics.

Not surprisingly, a healthy 92 per cent of the youth believe in the importance of education. However, even though the current bout of democracy in the country is hardly two years old, there are already growing signs of disillusionment with democracy within the youth. According to the report, only a third of those surveyed believed that democracy is the best system for the country.

This is an alarming finding, especially with the number of disastrous military regimes that the country has suffered and the proliferation of alternative faith-based systems being flaunted by conventional religious parties and the largely mythic-political ones propagated by clandestine extremist groups.

Thus, more alarming becomes the report’s finding in which it sees about 60 per cent of the country’s youth having faith in the military and around 50 per cent having similar trust in religious seminaries (madrassahs), which, in the last many years have come under scrutiny from the government and the state for both propagating and initiating extreme strains of Islam.

The bi-polar make-up of the Pakistani youth is further highlighted when the report suggests that the young generation by and large is civic minded. This generation insists that the primary purpose of education is to produce good and productive citizens.

When questioned about the reasons behind the recent spat of terrorist and other violence in the country, the respondents point the finger at ‘injustice’ (30 per cent); and ‘economics conditions’ (28 per cent).

Again, not surprisingly, a large number of young men and women also blamed the international community of ‘interfering in the affairs of the country,’ and for ‘demonising Pakistan.’

The truth is, if a majority of a country’s youth have more faith in institutions that have been largely responsible for the political, social and economic disasters that the country has faced for many years (the military and the madrassahs), it will be very hard for the international community not to exhibit any alarm or concern, especially if the same country also has a nuclear arsenal.

But the British Council report is not all that concerned by this dilemma. Instead in its concluding remarks, it is actually hopeful and advises the state and the government to tap into the nationalism and civic mindedness of the youth because we still have about 35 years to convert the economic, cultural and political potential of our youth into something that can rise above cynicism and a forlorn attitude, and play a more positive, productive and inspired role.
Around 2,500 young men and women (writers, journalists, students, NGO workers) were involved in the writing and preparation of this report that can go a long way in triggering some constructive debate and, as British Council’s Fasi Zaka hopes, ‘renew an interest in a much neglected subject.’

 

[Kasrkin]

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Wasted youth: Reflections on the British Council report

A very interesting and insightful report. The article however can be definited by a visibly skewed political opinion from the writer or editors. To me it was quite offensive how he finds "alarming" the fact that 60% of our youth have faith in our armed institutions. The military is an important institution, all the more so in a country like Pakistan which lacks truly nationally integrated political parties or alternative institutions. The fact that the young have a high opinion of their armed forces, more than their feudal and undemocratic politicians and their unelected appointees anyway, does not surprise me at all as I would have predicted an even higher approval rating from my experience.

Thus, more alarming becomes the report’s finding in which it sees about 60 per cent of the country’s youth having faith in the military and around 50 per cent having similar trust in religious seminaries (madrassahs), which, in the last many years have come under scrutiny from the government and the state for both propagating and initiating extreme strains of Islam.

What is the writer trying to say? That the young NOT trusting our institutions is a good sign as opposed to a bad sign? Sure, the military is not perfect. They've had bad leaders and embarrassing moments, BUT how is perpetual contempt directed towards all the generations of officers (including their own generation) who hardly have anything to do with the past remotely resemble healthy signs for the country? Especially for a country like Pakistan where the alternatives to spasms of military-civil governance can be much MUCH worse.

No doubt that military rule is not the answer to our problems but thats besides the point when Mr. Paracha tries to imply that all our problems are because of military rule. Military interference has always been a symptom as opposed to a cause of our problems as can be seen by this poll that shows this inclination with the people to call for the military to step in even at this early stage. The military rulers were not perfect rulers, which is to be expected. All faced tough times and brought the country through. If you want to accuse them of being so 'disastrous' then put it in context by examining how they were worse than any of our civilian rulers. The military lead-rule is when Pakistan experienced the most economic growth usually spurred by foreign aid but also by internal factors like Ayub's reforms. Also, the civilians were hardly any better. In fact, Pakistan's two most powerful civilian Prime Ministers we truly disastrous for the country's economy and were dictators in their own right. People like Mr. Paracha, in their desire to demonize the military, forget that you don't need a uniform to be a dictator. Hitler, for instance, did use democracy to achieve power and then he used the very same disillusionment with democracy and its weakness to build his Nazi state. The Pakistan Army has always stepped down from governance and handed the power straight back to civilians who've been calling for their violent removal (the PPP actually ran a terrorist operation called Al-Zulfikar to overthrow Zia's regime) when they feel they're not needed. This is opposed to civilian authoritarian rulers who have to be removed, and always are with the help of the judiciary, other politicians and the approval of the populace. Needless to say, there is a reason these young people might feel the military provides a check on things.

The truth is, if a majority of a country’s youth have more faith in institutions that have been largely responsible for the political, social and economic disasters that the country has faced for many years (the military and the madrassahs), it will be very hard for the international community not to exhibit any alarm or concern, especially if the same country also has a nuclear arsenal.

That is indeed most crude and unbalanced. The international community, and everyone in it, will have their own interests and biases through which they look at Pakistan, not all of which will be accurate. But the fact that the Pakistani people still regard the pakistani military highly is no cause for concern for any except for the most decidedly anti-Pakistani strand. The US military ofcourse relies on the Pakistani military for a great many things. As so other militaries, our delegations are treated with the utmost respect and visa versa. Our officers go to many fine military institutions abroad and are certainly not disrespected. The Pakistani Army has deep and important ties with the armies of many Muslim countries and none of them look at the PA as an entity to be scorned at. I wonder why then does this gentleman think otherwise, even when its apparent that most Pakistanis don't, and justify the behavior of those non-Pakistan elements who find it convenient to ascribe to such a view.

This is where the lines between blatant and unqualified opinion and news is so casually crossed. To blame a single institution for all the country's misfortunes is a old tactic used by politicians who've been usurped. To detract from their own considerable failings as democrats. But it is unfortunate that supposed professionals adopt that rhetoric so deeply without conscious recognition of what it is. Dawn is a respected media news outfit but it is distressing to see them projecting such unhealthy opinion in the name of news and journalism.

 

[Halaku Khan]

British Council: Pakistan facing 'frightening' demographic disaster - Telegraph

Excerpts:

• One third of Pakistanis aged 18 to 29 who were surveyed believe in sharia, or Islamic law

• half have “a great deal of confidence” in religious-based education;

• just one third advocate democracy for the country.

• more than 60 per cent have faith in the army - the only widely trusted institution of the state.

• Only 10 per cent have a great deal of confidence in national or local government, the courts or the police

• They believe they do not have adequate skills for the workplace and little anticipation of being able to compete fairly for jobs.

• Only half of Pakistan's children go to primary school, a quarter to secondary school and just 5 per cent receive higher education.

• The report found that three-quarters of respondents identified themselves foremost as Muslims, with just 14 per cent describing themselves primarily as a citizen of Pakistan.

• Pakistan’s population is projected to exceed 260 million by 2030, and 335 million by 2050.

 

[deathfromabove]

Most young Pakistanis see nation going in the wrong direction, study finds​

Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times

LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan will face a “demographic disaster” if it does not address the needs of its young generation, the largest in the country’s history, whose views reflect a deep disillusionment with government and democracy, according to a report released here on Saturday.

The report, commissioned by the British Council and conducted by the Nielsen research company, drew a picture of a deeply frustrated young generation that feels abandoned by its government and despondent about its future.

An overwhelming majority of young Pakistanis say their country is headed in the wrong direction, the report said, and only 1 in 10 has confidence in the government. Most see themselves as Muslim first and Pakistani second, and they are now entering a work force in which the lion’s share cannot find jobs, a potentially volatile situation if the government cannot address its concerns.

“This is a real wake-up call for the international community,” said David Steven, a fellow at the Center for International Cooperation at New York University, who was an adviser on the report. “You could get rapid social and economic change. But the other route will lead to a nightmare that would unfold over 20 to 30 years.”

The report provides an unsettling portrait of a difficult time for Pakistan, a 62-year-old nuclear-armed country that is fighting an insurgency in its western mountains and struggling to provide for its rapidly expanding population. The population has risen by almost half in just 20 years, a pace that is double the world average, according to the report.

The despair among the young generation is rooted in the condition of their lives, the report found. Only a fifth of those interviewed had permanent full-time jobs. Half said they did not have sufficient skills to enter the workplace. And one in four could not read or write, a legacy of the country’s abysmal public education system, in which less than 40 percent of children are enrolled in school, far below the South Asian average of 58 percent.

While most do not trust their government, they attach their loyalty to religion. Three-quarters identified themselves primarily as Muslim, with just one in seven identifying themselves as Pakistani.

The demographic power of this generation represents a turning point for Pakistan. Its energy, if properly harnessed, could power an economic rise, as was the case in many East Asian countries in the 1990s, Mr. Steven said in a telephone interview.

But if the opportunity is squandered by insufficient investment in areas like education and health care, the country will face a demographic disaster, the report said. To avoid that, the authors of the report calculated that Pakistan’s economy would need to grow by 36 million jobs in the next decade — about a quarter the size of the United States economy — an enormous challenge in an economy that is growing by about a million jobs a year.

Pakistan has a long way to go. The study interviewed 1,226 Pakistanis ages 18 to 29, from different backgrounds across the country, in March and April. More than 70 percent said they were worse off financially than they were last year. This year’s budget earmarks just 2 percent of the economy for education, about half the percentage spent in India and Turkey. Life in rural areas is rudimentary. The report cites data showing that 40 percent of households have no electricity, and that animal dung and leftover waste from crops account for more than 80 percent of the country’s energy use.

Young people’s biggest concern — far above terrorism — was inflation, which rose to 23 percent in 2009, pushing 7 percent of Pakistanis back into poverty, the report said. More than 90 percent agreed better quality education was a priority.

There were bright spots. The young people were civic-minded, with a third saying the purpose of education was to create good citizens. They were also more interested in collective action and volunteer activities than their parents. But they were deeply disillusioned with politics, which they saw as corrupt and based on a system in which personal connections mattered more than merit. That sentiment is borne out by the global competitiveness index of 133 countries produced by the World Economic Forum, which in 2009 put Pakistan in slot 101, two notches below Nigeria.

“Here a student struggles day and night but the son of a rich man by giving money gets higher marks than him,” the report quoted a young man in Lahore as saying.

That led to one of the report’s most surprising findings: Only a third of those polled thought democracy was the best system for Pakistan, equal to the fraction preferring Islamic law, in what David Martin, director of the British Council in Pakistan, called “an indictment of the failures of democracy over many years.”

Only 1 in 10 said they were “very interested” in political events in Pakistan, while more than a third said they were not interested at all. The highest-ranking institution was Pakistan’s military. Sixty percent of those interviewed said that they trusted it. Second highest was religious educational institutions, trusted by about 50 percent of respondents. The national government came last at 10 percent.

If the government has failed to channel the energy of Pakistan’s youth, militant groups have succeeded, drawing educated and uneducated young people with slogans of jihad and, in some cases, of social justice.

The findings were sobering for Pakistani officials. Faisal Subzwari, minister of youth affairs for Sindh Province, who attended the presentation of the report in Lahore, said: “These are the facts. They might be cruel, but we have to admit them.”

But young Pakistanis have demonstrated their appetite for collective action, with thousands of people taking to the streets last spring as part of a movement of lawyers, who were demanding the reinstatement of the chief justice, and Mr. Steven argued that the country’s future would depend on how that energy was channeled. “Can Pakistan harness this energy, or will it continue to fight against it?” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/world/asia/22pstan.html

 

[pakomar]

if i compare 90s Pakistan with present Pakistan only difference i see is that in 90s Pakistan people do got to much money but were in peace and were very happy but now people got to much money but lost their smile,will for Pakistan.

 

[Developereo]

I see a French revolution coming. The blood sucking, feudal vampires will be strung up by their balls sooner or later.

 

[Omar1984]

This decade was bad for Pakistan mainly because of the war OF terror. Hopefully this war will soon end both in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan (because what goes on in Afghanistan also affects Pakistan).

InshAllah the coming decade will be good for Pakistan.

 

[Developereo]

This decade was bad for Pakistan mainly because of the war OF terror. Hopefully this war will soon end both in Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan (because what goes on in Afghanistan also affects Pakistan).

InshAllah the coming decade will be good for Pakistan.

I doubt it.

The country will limp along from crisis to crisis, perhaps carried aloft on some global economic wave, but we will never break free and become a true superpower until we shed our feudal yoke and develop a significant middle class.

And we will need to change our mindset. Instead of looking for excuses and saying we can't do this or that because we are a poor country, we need to have an attitude of 'yes we can'.

Japan and Germany went from ashes to glory. So can we. But not until we believe in ourselves.

 

[Nemesis]

Can't really comment on the situation except to state that Pakistan needs MAJOR land reforms. Most of the countryside still follows feudal practices i believe.

I see a French revolution coming. The blood sucking, feudal vampires will be strung up by their balls sooner or later

There is no revolutionary sentiment in Pakistan. Do you even have Communist/left wing parties?

 

[Spring Onion]

Land reforms indeed are needed to be done now. But we need to do away with hierarchy in politics which is the root cause of this disrcimimatory government system in Pakistan.

 

[sairaawais]

i think the basis reason for all this is absense of any leadership....i wish i can see the time of imam mehdi...when muslims again will be the leaders of the world

 

[Spring Onion]

i think the basis reason for all this is absense of any leadership....i wish i can see the time of imam mehdi...when muslims again will be the leaders of the world

and till that time lets play dumb right

 

[rajeev]

The most dangerous thing what I saw in here was that most Pakistanis identifying themselves as Muslims first rather as a Pakistani.

I cannot think of any other place this is happening. Saudis dont do it! The Kuwaitis dont! The Iraqis dont! The Iranians dont! So where did this concept arise?

 

[Omar1984]

The most dangerous thing what I saw in here was that most Pakistanis identifying themselves as Muslims first rather as a Pakistani.

I cannot think of any other place this is happening. Saudis dont do it! The Kuwaitis dont! The Iraqis dont! The Iranians dont! So where did this concept arise?

Yes many Pakistanis identify themselves as Muslims first and so do some Saudis, Kuwaitis, Iraqis, and Iranians.

We are taught in our religion that as soon as we enter our grave the first question the angel will ask us is "who is your Lord" and "what is your religion". So the only thing that will matter is that we are Muslims and how good of a Muslim we were in our life on earth.

 

[Developereo]

There is no revolutionary sentiment in Pakistan. Do you even have Communist/left wing parties?

No, but if you have a lot of unemployed young people, violence usually isn't far away.

Especially in a typical third world country with poor law enforcement capability.

Land reforms indeed are needed to be done now. But we need to do away with hierarchy in politics which is the root cause of this disrcimimatory government system in Pakistan.

Always useful to remember this old post by salman108
Zardari = A Baloch tribe, Feudal to the bone.
Bhutto = Sindhi Feudal
Jatoi = Sindhi Feudal ( at a time Jatoi family had most land in Asia)
Gillani = Feudal from south punjab AND self proclaimed religious leader.
Khakwani = Feudal from south western punjab
Rukun-uddin = South Punjab feudal and self proclaimed blood line holder of saint Rukhundin.
Sharif = Feudals from central punjab.
Balore = Feudal from Peshawar.

I remember reading that somewhere from 75% to 90% of Pakistani parliament are feudals.

The most dangerous thing what I saw in here was that most Pakistanis identifying themselves as Muslims first rather as a Pakistani.

I cannot think of any other place this is happening. Saudis dont do it! The Kuwaitis dont! The Iraqis dont! The Iranians dont! So where did this concept arise?

Far more troubling is this statistic:
with just one in seven identifying themselves as Pakistani

How can we have a unified nation if only 1 in 7 considers themselves a part of it?