The future and prosperity of any country are determined by the percentage of its educated youth as they are the people who build the economy of their nation. The employment ratio is one of the main indicators for assuming to what extent a country can develop. If we talk about Latin America and the Caribbean the employment in the year 2015 has increased by 0.5% for the first time. Lack of opportunity has engulfed the region which has become the major reason that the youth is being indulged in crime and substance abuse. Employment develops frustration in the individuals who deserve better opportunity but feel helpless just because of having less access to them. Whose fault is this? Rebeca Grynspan, the Secretary-General of the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) asserted that employment is the problem and education is the answer to all questions.
Even a layman can understand that the world is progressing and it is education that enables us to compete in the race. Hunger for power, party politics, religion-based agenda and all sorts of conspiracy theories are null and void in the present canvas. Countries should realize the significance of educated population that can show miracles in the global platforms. In the modern democracies, people and their individual development should be the sole agenda for every country. In her research, Rebeca says10 out of 15 countries have common social problems which are the roots of all types of problems including crime, unemployment and poor economy. The young people live just above the poverty line because they don’t complete their school education which forces them to get indulge in violence and illegal work.
She has been working with UNDP and asserts that the Latin American history is full of insecurity which is the major reason for current violence and disappointment amongst youth. She says the SEGIB does not address the issues related to violence directly but it focuses on prevention of crime and violence by mentoring the youth who are disillusioned and fostering development based on latest technology so that this gang culture and violence can be reduced. As necessity is said to be the mother of all inventions, development is the mother of opportunities. Creation of new jobs and providing the misguided young men and women with jobs of their choice can work well in this scenario. Another effort could be made to empower youth to become successful entrepreneurs by giving them skill development training. Many among the young minds do not want to study. As psychology suggests every person is unique because of the skill, talent, and intelligence present in him /her. The governments of all countries should recognize them and try to galvanize what the individual possess rather than mugging up a pre-determined educational curriculum full of books and projects. Education is not all about reading books and preparing assignments. Education is concerned with projecting the quality of a person on a right track.
Countries should work on the following elements to empower their youth:
Small economies always find it difficult to allocate such huge funds to education but least they can do is to increase facility of online education with the help of virtual classrooms and conference sessions. The private sector should work with the governments and enroll financially unsound students and in return, the government can ensure them tax rebates and other privileges.