To be a desert is not our destiny

The National Youth Policy formulated eight years ago has defined those aged 16 to 40 years as youths. National Census-2021 states that youths constitute 42.56 percent of the national population, which stood at 40.35 percent during the census conducted in the year 2011. 

According to data from the Foreign Employment Department, the number of Nepalis going abroad for work has increased by more than 21 percent in the fiscal year 2022-23 compared to the fiscal 2021-22. In 2022-23, a staggering 771,327 people went to countries other than India for jobs, more than 630,000 people took work permits in 2021-22 whereas in 2020-21 only 166,698 people went for foreign employment. In 2019-20, 368,433 people took work permit, followed by 508,828 in 2018-19, 612,685 people in 2017-18, 354,533 people in 2016-17 and 640,981 people in 2015-16, whereas 693,032 people (new labor permits and renewals included) Nepali went abroad for jobs in 2014-15. These data show that youth exodus for jobs peaked in 2015-16 before reaching a new high in 2022-23.

Why do a large number of Nepalis seem to think that their country of birth does not have much to offer in terms of employment opportunities? Is it solely because of indifference on the part of the state? 

The Constitution of Nepal 2015 has regarded the right to employment as a fundamental right, but this right, like several other rights, remain largely on paper.

It is not that the government has not tried to reduce unemployment. With the aim of providing jobs, the government launched the Prime Minister’s Employment Program five years ago. 

Thousands of youths benefited from this program that basically provides 100 days’ employment to unemployed people in a year, which still meant too little for millions of unemployed people, 

Besides, how many people can make a living for themselves and their families by getting gainful employment for 100 days in a year? 

While the Nepali job market scenario remains grim, there’s no drought of promises to create jobs in the country. For instance, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry has announced plans to create 2.2m jobs by 2030. The plans are great, whether they will materialize or not is a different thing altogether. 

The 15th periodic plan of the National Planning Commission has envisaged a high-level National Employment Authority for creating jobs, coordinating with various agencies and regulating the employment sector by bringing Youth Self-employment Fund, Poverty Alleviation Fund and NPC on board. 

Like previous editions, this periodic plan has also made some lofty promises. It has pledged to create 2.5m more jobs, increase workforce participation rate from 38.5 percent to 49 percent, increase the share of the formal sector in employment from 36.5 percent to 50 percent and provide professional, technical and skill training to 500,000 people. 

What’s more, it plans to establish employment information centers at all local levels and tie them up with the employment system of the organized sector, reduce industrial labor disputes and develop sound labor relations. 

However, these tall promises should be compared with the situation on the ground. The Nepal Labor Force Survey conducted about six years ago put the unemployment rate in the country at a staggering 11.4 percent, compared to a dismal 2.1 percent and 1.8 percent in surveys conducted a decade ago and 25 years ago, respectively. 

In a predominantly agricultural country, the farm sector appears to be shrinking by the day, if findings of the National Census-2021 are any indication. Per the census, the population involved in agriculture is 50.1 percent, which marks a sharp decline from 65.6 percent during the census conducted in 2011.

These statistics point toward a declining interest of the public toward agriculture, due, perhaps, to factors like dismal returns resulting from the lack of irrigation facilities and market.  

Summing up, time has come for the government to walk the talk and prove to the youth that there is no dearth of employment opportunities in Nepal, whether it’s in the farms or other sectors.