Unemployment a major challenge for the country: Youth

Amit Bathla

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, January 11

As the country will celebrate National Youth Day tomorrow, to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, The Tribune spoke to youngsters in the city to know about their aspirations when the nation is facing several challenges.

Jaspal (20), a final year student of BA (General), Government PG College, Sector 1, termed joblessness as the biggest challenge staring the nation in the face.

He said: “The Indian youth lags behind in skill development. So, it is difficult to match the fast-changing requirements of the industry. The University Grants Commission (UGC) should step in to introduce more job-oriented courses.”

He said while the flagship scheme, ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana’, was a good one, emphasis should be laid on its implementation.

Inderjeet (22) from the college had similar things to say.

“We are in the last year of our course and aren’t sure what to do. Our future is at stake. Don’t know whether we will get jobs after graduation. The government needs to introduce policies that will benefit the youth,” he said.

They also expressed their views on the ongoing protests across the country over the Citizenship Amendment Act. “Whatever is happening in the universities across the country is unfortunate. Higher educational institutions happen to be places for study, not violence,” they said.