Prof Sampat Singh, national patron of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and former state finance minister has expressed serious concern over the growing problem of unemployment and underemployment amongst the highly educated youth in Haryana.
Singh was referring to a recruitment exam conducted for a ‘safai karamchari’ (sweeper) post at the Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LUVAS) in Hisar on Saturday. Many candidates possessing postgraduate and M.Phil. degrees had appeared to be in the contest for the post, which made him say that it reflects the alarming economic and social condition prevailing in Haryana.
Addressing a meeting at Nehla village, the INLD leader said that when youths holding qualifications such as M.A., M.Sc., MBA, M.Phil., and other advanced degrees are compelled to apply for posts requiring only an eighth-grade qualification, it indicates not merely unemployment, but a serious problem of underemployment.
“This leads to a waste of talent and renders the social and economic investment made in education ineffective,” he said.
Singh said that Haryana has produced a large number of graduates, postgraduates and professionally qualified youth, however, job opportunities have not increased in proportion to their qualifications.
He added that as a result, lakhs of educated youth are forced to apply for jobs far below their educational standards.
Singh remarked that the situation has become so alarming that educated youths are competing even for posts such as peons, watchmen, and sanitation workers merely to secure the stability of a government job. He warned that the continuing rise in unemployment and underemployment among educated youth could lead to frustration, migration, reduced productivity and growing social discontent.
Singh further said that families invest heavily in the higher education of their children with the hope that they will secure better employment and a respectable life, but the lack of suitable job opportunities is creating disappointment and despair among the younger generation, he said.
The leader urged the state government to formulate a comprehensive and long-term employment policy, adding that there is a need to create new employment opportunities in industry, the service sector, agriculture-based enterprises, and emerging technology sectors. He also called for the timely filling of vacant government posts and the strengthening of skill-based employment programs.
