Educated youth can’t get jobs without bribe: Ezidyar

KABUL first deputy chairman Mohammad Alam Ezidyar on Wednesday said corruption had reached a stage where educated youth could not find jobs without paying bribes or having links with officials.

 “Corruption has spread to all sides of the current system and society. Like termites, corruption destroys the system from inside, while the unity government has been unable to strictly fight the menace as corrupt people are still on government positions,” Ezidyar told a gathering “National Conference of Afghan Youth” in Kabul.

Due to corruption, the youth holding master’s or doctorate decrees could not find jobs, but people who have connections with lawmakers, ministers or powerful men or pay money as bribe are being appointed, he said.

The lack of attention from the unity government to provide jobs to the youth would create a crisis that the government would be unable to control, he remarked.

Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Farida Momand said they had good achievements in sphere of education over the past 14 years and the number of government-run universities had increased from seven to 36 across the country.

During the period, 114 private higher education institutes were established in the country, she said, putting the number of university students at more than 300,000 students with girls constituting 27 percent of them.

Information and Culture Minister Abdul Bari Jihani said joblessness among the youth was a big challenge for the current government because jobless youth were being attracted by terrorist and extremist groups to join them.

Her ministry has been working on a strategic plan to create jobs for the youth in order to overcome joblessness, Minister for Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled Nasrin Oryakhel said.

On the basis of the plan, she said, they would train newly graduated students for six months to get suitable jobs.

myn/ma