Lawmakers belonging to different political parties have stressed upon the revival of student unions in the country in order to eradicate the growing menace of extremism in educational institutions. The PILDAT and UNDP Pakistan conducted a 'Youth Dialogue on Democratic, Peaceful Governance and Sustainable Development' at a local hotel on Tuesday. Representatives of the provincial government of Sindh as well as members of opposition political parties in the Sindh Assembly engaged with youth representatives belonging to Sindh.
In a strong and healthy debate centered on concerns of the youth, young speakers brought to light measures taken in the past by the Sindh Government, and asked the provincial leadership and opposition their plans for the future to address these issues. The issues of extreme importance, as identified by the youth were: Employment, Quality of Education to make them employable, and Extremism in Educational Institutions.
Representatives of the ruling party in Sindh who joined the dialogue included Former Senator Taj Haider PPP, Senator Sassui Palijo PPP, Sardar Nazakat PPP representative, Former Senator Mukhtiar Ajiz Dhamrah and Mian Vaqar Pagganwala PPP representative.
Representatives of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly who joined the dialogue included Syed Abdul Rasheed of Jamaat e Islami, Rashid Khilji of MQM-Pakistan,. Nusrat Sehar Abbasi of Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Naseem Rajper MPA GDA and others.
Youth speakers included Kinza Abidi, Syed Ali Hassan, Muhammad Hunain, Marium Nayyer, Waseem Soomro, Khusbakht Suhail and Zahra Valika.
In his welcome address, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT said Pakistan is currently one of the youngest countries in the world, and the second youngest in the South Asian region. This high proportion of youth offers tremendous opportunities for national development, but it also poses huge challenges if the country fails to educate and equip them with required skills and knowledge. It is with this purpose, that is, to provide a platform to Pakistani Youth, to express their views on state policies and matters of their concern, in an informed and structured manner, and to help them learn how to engage in civilized dialogue on contentious issues, that PILDAT initiated this dialogue.
In their questions to representatives of the Provincial Government and Opposition, Youth Speakers highlighted issues on education and extremism, promises made to revive student unions, lack of clean drinking water and toilets in primary schools, prospects for higher education, lack of focus on development of rural youth, rights of transgender in youth, corruption in Sindh's institutions, land reforms, and how the government and opposition can work together for civilian supremacy.
Representatives, whether from the Government or Opposition, agreed with the issues highlighted by the youth and that it is a need of the day to invest in youth development of Pakistan especially through education and employment. The matter of revival of student unions was emphasized upon across the board among leadership of political parties present from Sindh Province. Members of opposition highlighted the need to prioritize discussion on youth issues, such as growing menace of extremism in educational institutions, and the extremely low budget allocated for their development.
Comments
Comments are closed.