How many people in Sindh are jobless and what are the job opportunities in the province is one question that too often comes up in political discussions and invariably in drawing rooms after-dinner idle talks. It disappears in the heavy smoke of Havana cigars even before the guests at the dinner depart. Only the traces of stimulus remain.
What remains even after the late night extravaganza, fade away after the sunrise and emergence of a new dawn that begins with it unforeseen problems of immediate nature. Many of these are seemingly trivial, nevertheless time consuming, and attention diverting.
It may be a visit to a doctor, school to settle children's issues relating to slow learning and carelessness in handling homework, to the garage to collect the under repair automobile and calling upon the insurance office for the clearance of bills of the mechanic. Disposal of office files pending for weeks together and attending to distasteful tasks that are often unavoidable and necessary to maintain relations with who is who of smaller stature in such government offices that carry nuisance value.
In the humdrum of this kind of daily time schedule one is bound to forget about others who are in need of employment to sustain their families. As the newspapers say the number of unemployed people is increasing with the passage of each day, it is necessary to give proper attention to this problem.
The data on unemployment is unreliable as the social scientists put it at fifteen to twenty percent whereas the official figure remain close to nine percent.
This difference between the figures quoted by the social scientists is based upon their studies conducted in their respective areas; whereas the government statistics are based upon the data collected by the bureau of statistics under the control of the federal government. The method of collecting data is old and hackneyed. It is no more relevant these days.
The other source of information of the government is the Planning Commission that has its own surveyors. These people seldom move out of their offices and believe in tempering with figures collected decades ago. It is this reason that officially unemployment always remains under control.
But what remains is the fact that a large number of people carrying postgraduate diplomas and degrees in their hands have registered themselves with local employment exchanges for jobs is awesome. Stories appearing in newspapers about the gunny bags containing applications invited for a few jobs in the provincial education, excise and taxation and police departments dumped unacknowledged in the Sindh secretariat are worth giving a serious consideration. The insiders say that none of the applications received was seen by the concerned officers or by those who were to examine these applications and shortlist candidates for interview/examination.
If not many, at least one case of suicide is being reported every day that an unemployed man commits somewhere in Pakistan. The scourge of unemployment is evenly distributed in urban as well as rural Pakistan. Sindh is worst affected as it has the highest number of educated urban youth than other provinces.
Literate youths in rural Sindh are not after very lucrative employment opportunities. They want jobs nearer their homes so that they may be able look after their families, ancestral agricultural land and attend to social events in their villages. Some of these have no qualms about their educational background and do not aspire to get a job compatible with their educational qualifications. Any kind of employment that brings money is welcome.
A large number of boys and girls who have bachelor's degrees in science subjects have already opted to become teachers in primary schools where they teach Islamiat, Sindhi or other similar subjects. When asked to comment on selecting teaching as profession they say that they are contented with what they are getting from a place, which is close to their homes.
Girls have limited options. Teaching is one profession they prefer to join. Vacancies in the social welfare department are another attraction. There are a few non-governmental organisations that have opened their offices in rural areas. These NGOs offer good jobs and congenial working conditions for female workers. Many have joined NGOs on comparatively better remuneration. A new trend in job preference is coming up in rural Sindh.
But the real change in the rural Sindh would be possible only after the agricultural sector is given a chance to grow. On the one hand the growth in this sector would increase output of different crops and on the other agro-industry would grow. It has been estimated that agro-based industry can grow at the rate of 8-10 percent per year provided a consistent farm credit policy is introduced and other inputs at affordable price are guaranteed to farmers of different sizes. It is only after enough production that large-scale investment in agro-based industries would become a reality.
The agro-based industry and related downstream industrial units on small scale would generate need for skill and unskilled manpower, both male and female. The agro-based industry would create jobs for science graduates; engineering graduates and graduates having higher degrees in financial disciplines, marketing and administration. A large number of technical graduates would be able get jobs.
In addition many smaller trading offices would come up and need qualified people to man these offices. The agro-based industry seems to be the latchkey to employment opportunities in rural areas. Once job opportunities in rural areas increase, the mass movement of people from rural areas to urban areas would slow down and there would be visible improvement in the lives of the rural population.