Editorials- No where to go

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Nowhere to go (October 27)

Unemployment is one of the pressing issues the State is facing today. Every year thousands of students graduate from the many graduate and postgraduate institutions while the job opportunity is becoming ever more limited. Indeed when one talks about jobs one is referring to Government employment since there are only a handful of private enterprises that can offer jobs in large numbers.

Even government jobs are not available now and the Government is already finding it very difficult to, maintain its 80,000 odd employees. Now instead of recruiting more staff the Government is making efforts to reduce the number of posts in an attempt to lessen the, financial burden on the Government.

The State has no big industry; we don't even have small industries. We have no other means to generate employment. One will have to pull rickshaws, become a cobbler or find a few thousands of rupees, if one can, to open a pan shop/ kiosk to eke out a living. Given the quality of education our children have been receiving over the past 20 years or so and barring those meritorious students who graduated from better universities in other States, only few State youths can compete in all India competitions. Hence seeking jobs' elsewhere is a very tough proposition.

Given the circumstances, the overwhelming response to the recruitment of rifleman, havildar and jamadar for the proposed 3rd Indian Reserve Battalion is not surprising. Even a candidate with a graduate degree, is rubbing shoulders with a matriculate candidate in the recruitment rally for the post of a rifleman while graduates of other advanced States are applying for IAS/IPS or other all India public service examinations. This is very unfortunate.

The live registrars in the State's employment exchanges show that the number of educated jobless persons in the State is a little over three lakhs. This is only a small portion of the total strength of educated unemployed youths. These are the people who still have faith that they could get a Government job. There are lakhs of educated youths whose names are not included in the registrars of the employment offices. And what about the uneducated jobless people?

Our economy is basically based on agriculture. But thanks to the callous Government
we are yet to exploit the agricultural sector. After paddy-harvesting season is over our vast fields, remain idle throughout the year. Even if one is willing to work all the year round in his field and earn an honest living he could not do so. The reason is well known to the authorities of the State Agriculture Directorate.

So where do our youths, educated and illiterate go? The problem of unemployment at the moment has assumed alarming proportions and one shudders to think what might happen after 20/30 years. If the callousness of the Government continues, the problem of unemployment will burst into a serious social problem in the coming years.

(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)

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