Rewiring Learning for Jobs

 

The latest developments in the world, particularly the emerging “new world order” associated with recent leadership in the United States, suggest a troubling assumption: that global problems can be resolved through brute military force. This shift has caused widespread concern across the globe, especially in Pakistan. One significant impact of this development is on fundamental human rights, particularly the right to education and healthcare. These sectors once provided not only intellectual satisfaction but also stable employment and livelihoods. Today, many university graduates, even if they possess good academic degrees, are finding it hard to find stable jobs and are mostly struggling to achieve some level of satisfaction. Young people, after getting frustrated when see the rise of the powerful and the mighty without any such struggle in this very society, increasingly feel compelled to acquire secondary, non-academic skills, such as flattery and submission to authority, rather than pursuing merit-based scholarship. Many believe that power, whether obtained through fear or unethical means, and wealth, regardless of its source, are the keys to success. This rapidly spreading menace will result in unacceptable social consequences of grave nature and hence needs to be tackled on war footing.

In my view, we need to come out of this misguided perception and see the world with a cleared and objective view. History shows that societies have functioned in similar ways before. In earlier times, warriors and guards were favored and well-supported by ruling authorities. A similar pattern is visible today, where professions linked to the military and administration receive greater resources and rewards, while other sectors face increasing neglect. Although, it is a reverberation of Fredrick Jameson’s concept of late capitalism and is in conformity with the creation of the elite system to rule over the vast number of people working as laborers to the capitalistic system, the Marxist philosophy says that the situation can be solved by a more holistic approach. When white-collar jobs are rapidly declining, and for many individuals, blue-collar work should remain the primary option. This shift necessitates a change in mindset. Individuals must now strive to acquire practical and specialized skills to secure employment. The era of guaranteed jobs based solely on academic degrees is fading. Employment is no longer a right; it must be earned through competence and fully developed skills.

In this context, universities must fundamentally reform their curricula, degree structures, and teaching methodologies. Higher education institutions must ensure that their graduates are equipped not only for current demands but also for future challenges, thereby safeguarding both individual and institutional survival. Simultaneously, the rapid advancement of technology is transforming the labor market. Automation and artificial intelligence are replacing human labor in many sectors. However, these developments also create demand for new technical skills. In my opinion, five broad categories of work will remain relevant and in high demand in the technologically advanced future. First, Technical experts who can maintain and manage digital infrastructure, including computers, the internet, satellites, and communication networks. Second, Professionals who can operate and manage AI-based humanoid machines. Third, Entertainers, such as performers, comedians, and artists, who provide recreation and emotional relief. Fourth, individuals involved in food production, preparation, and culinary arts, where human taste and creativity remain essential. Finaly, Service providers, particularly in emergency services, electricity management, and basic healthcare. 

Given these realities, policymakers, educational leaders, and societal institutions must recognize the urgent need to redesign education systems to prepare future generations effectively. Another critical issue is the accessibility of knowledge in today’s world. With vast information readily available through digital platforms, one may question the role of educational institutions. However, while technology can provide information and technical skills, it cannot replace human values, ethical reasoning, and social understanding. Martin Heidegger warns that modern technology reduces the world, and human beings, to mere “resources” to be optimized and controlled. Therefore, the humanities remain indispensable. They provide the ethical foundation, cultural awareness, and social cohesion necessary for a balanced society. Without this human dimension, a purely technology-driven world risks becoming mechanical and devoid of meaning. Yuval Noah Harari warns that humans may become “hackable animals” in a data-driven world, where algorithms understand and predict behavior better than individuals themselves.

The need of the hour is to establish a balance between machines and humans. If such a balance is not achieved, we may witness a future dominated by cyborgs and artificial systems, where human experiences and emotions are marginalized. The consequences of such a transformation could be far more distressing than the challenges we face today at the threshold of the technological age. Ultimately, regardless of the prevailing world order, survival will depend on adaptability and resilience. To thrive, young people must reshape their mindset and focus on acquiring relevant skills. Not everyone can become a warrior or an administrator; therefore, it is essential to guide individuals toward diverse, meaningful, and sustainable career paths that ensure both personal fulfillment and societal stability. 

The Politics of Female Education

 The Politics of Female Education

Although Margaret Atwood does not explicitly claim to be a feminist writer, in her novel The Edible Woman, she explores how a university-educated woman may lose her sense of self, which she names as ‘core’, after marriage. According to this perspective, women can become increasingly hollow as they transition into roles of wife and mother. Atwood seems to suggest that university education enables women to recognize themselves as thinking and analytical human beings. Through interaction with teachers and peers, they develop a sense of identity, autonomy, and intellectual agency. However, once a woman leaves the university, enters social life, marries, and becomes a mother, the impact of that education may begin to diminish. She is then often confined to the roles of wife and mother, and the “core” or self that she developed during her education risks being eroded. Other than this fictional analysis, the whole situation creates a mess for the young women with university education. She gets educated along with her male fellows which is meant to make a career or at least to make place in the society and as soon as the degree is over men go to make their career and the women are supposed to give up and take up the domestic responsibilities, even when they are walking on the path of career. In most cases, it is pretty problematic for a young woman to carry both dimensions of her social and moral duties.  This creates a paradoxical situation: should women pursue higher education only to become misfits in traditional society later, or should they avoid education and remain within conventional roles? A third possibility lies in a liminal or intermediate space, where women receive education, but society is structured in such a way that their essential identity remains intact.

Marriage and family life are nearly universal social institutions, experienced by most individuals, regardless of gender. In societies like Pakistan, marriage has traditionally been considered essential for a woman’s respectable social status, as was propounded by Jane Austen in her world-famous novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’. However, this belief is gradually changing. As more women attain higher education and enter professional fields, their social and economic status increasingly depends on their qualifications and careers rather than marriage alone. Today, a woman can live independently, support herself financially, or choose a partnership based on equality rather than necessity. These changes, however, bring new challenges and are rapidly changing the feministic landscape, especially in the conservative societies like that of Pakistan. Now women are more visible in the university level education and in the services and business field in Pakistan. This has created many new challenging dimensions for the traditional social set up. A woman who is educated and employed often cannot be expected to fulfill traditional domestic roles without support. She may require assistance from family members or professional service providers. When she becomes a mother, this need for support becomes even more critical. In Pakistan, reliable institutional support, such as childcare services, maternal care systems, and workplace accommodations, is still underdeveloped.

This reveals a structural imbalance: while women are being educated and encouraged to participate in the workforce, the necessary social infrastructure to support them has not evolved at the same pace. Men, in contrast, are generally less burdened by domestic responsibilities. Therefore, support systems such as daycare centers, state-supported childcare, and safe living environments for single women are essential. Unless this imbalance is taken care of or at least minimized, Atwood would prove right when she talked about losing of their ‘core’ by women. In the absence of such support, the intellectual and personal “core” developed through education is likely to be weakened. However, if social structures are redesigned to accommodate women’s dual roles, they can continue their professional lives without sacrificing their identity. Women do not reject roles as wives or mothers; rather, evidence suggests that educated and working women often perform these roles more effectively and with greater emotional engagement. What is urgently needed is the development of infrastructure that allows women to balance professional and domestic responsibilities. This includes institutional childcare, workplace flexibility, and shared domestic responsibilities. Only then can women fully utilize their education and contribute meaningfully to society. Other than improving sociopolitical infrastructure, the system of education, sociocultural organizations, education and media must also come forward to build a conducive environment for the working women. Sensitization of men, in this connection, is the most essential track. If men are sensitive for the uplift of women’s work and skill, these obstruction without further delays would be reduced.

Therefore, instead of discouraging women from pursuing higher education, society, both men and women, must work collectively to support them. Such support will ensure not only the preservation of their core identity but also their active participation in national development. An educated woman, supported by appropriate social structures, can be both a productive professional and a fulfilling partner and mother. 

Wars Steals our Future

 

Wars Steal the Future

The ancient world was deeply engaged in wars and battles, which were often believed to be fought not only for the glory of individuals but also for that of the nation. Such conflicts were frequently justified as necessary for mobilizing and uniting the people of a country. While these claims may appear valid on the surface, many wars—even in ancient times—were driven by hidden motives. These included the desire to seize land, exploit resources, and gain control over the labor, wealth, and material assets of conquered territories. In many cases, rulers waged wars to expand their domains and consolidate their power. These conflicts inevitably brought death, destruction, and bloodshed, costing countless lives and dismantling established social, economic, and political structures. Over time, wars have been romanticized, producing narratives of heroes and warriors, yet such glorification often obscures the devastating human cost of conflict. As history progressed, warfare became increasingly sophisticated and far more destructive. This is evident in global conflicts such as World War I and World War II, as well as numerous smaller wars driven by regionalism, imperialism, capitalism, and ideological struggles such as the clash between capitalism and communism. Despite their scale and intensity, wars have ultimately failed to resolve the fundamental problems of humanity.

It has long been believed that wars bring destruction not only to men but also, and often more severely, to women and children. However, it must now be added that the youth of a country are among the most affected by conflicts and wars. War destroys infrastructure, including employment opportunities, manufacturing sectors, and production facilities; consequently, jobs become scarce, placing immense strain on a country’s employment ratio. This resulting rise in unemployment exerts significant pressure on the psychological, physical, and mental well-being of young people, especially that currently pursuing education in universities, colleges, and professional institutions. They often feel deeply distracted and disillusioned, as they foresee a bleak future unless systems are rehabilitated and restored. Although wars have occurred throughout human history, bringing similar patterns of destruction, their impact today feels more intense. This is largely because many people now depend on daily earnings for survival, spending what they earn on a day-to-day basis. When war disrupts economic systems, everything envisioned in the name of democracy and prosperity collapses, placing enormous strain not only on the economy but also on the youth. One may argue that war creates new professions and employment opportunities in reconstruction and rehabilitation. However, such benefits are largely confined to elite or capitalist classes, who accumulate greater profits in times of crisis as Orwell argued that War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it. The burden, meanwhile, falls disproportionately on young people from lower and middle classes, who suffer due to inflation, shortages of supplies, reduced production, and economic instability caused by rising import bills.

Moreover, wars rarely resolve underlying problems. Historically, powerful states or groups have initiated wars to gain territory, resources, or assert dominance. In the process, countless innocent people who played no role in causing the conflict, are killed, without satisfying the ambitions of those who wage war. This reality is evident in the contemporary world, where conflicts in Ukraine, Palestine, and Iran, among others, continue without meaningful resolution. Smaller-scale conflicts across parts of Africa further reinforce this pattern of perpetual instability. In such conditions, educational activities are disrupted, prices of essential commodities rise, and production declines as resources are diverted toward war efforts. Frustration, psychological distress, and social instability increase, while literary, humanitarian, and social development activities decline. Entire nations become consumed by conflict, often taking decades to recover. While some capitalist states may benefit economically through reconstruction efforts, these gains come at the cost of increased debt burdens on war-affected countries, which must repay loans and profits to external investors.

Ultimately, war leads to widespread destruction with little to no meaningful gain. Resources are depleted, prosperity is shattered, and both sides, when viewed critically, achieve nothing of lasting value. Wars are therefore not solutions but catalysts for further problems, particularly for young people. Many young people seek to migrate from conflict zones, yet increasingly restrictive immigration policies in Europe and North America make this difficult, leaving them trapped in deteriorating conditions. It is therefore imperative that wars not be used to resolve conflicts between nations. Instead, dialogue, rational discourse, and diplomatic negotiations must be prioritized. History demonstrates that solutions achieved through dialogue are more sustainable, whereas those imposed through conflict often perpetuate further instability. Indeed, many of the world’s ongoing crises today are the direct consequence of wars that created more problems than they resolved.