KARACHI: Every year on average, 480,000 students graduate from universities across the country, out of which only 172,000 get jobs. Undoubtedly, this is one of the major concerns for students as a majority of population struggles with employment issues.

For such situations, there is an acute need to prepare students to earn a living through entrepreneurship.

These views were expressed by Dr Maroof Bin Rauf in an exhibition and seminar titled Social Action Project (SAP) organised by the Department of Education, University of Karachi.

“Students should be provided with other options as well, and we have to guide them so that their energies should not be wasted,” he said.

He informed the audience that SAP was a term commonly used to refer to an action taken to improve society.

Dr Rauf used this term to teach entrepreneurship to students in a unique way. During his presentation, he said that traditional methods of employment had failed miserably in fulfilling the needs of the market, both in the public and the private sectors. This failure can lead to a dangerous economic recession, he added.

He said in times like these, it was important to prepare youngsters for entrepreneurship.

It would aid them in establishing small-scale industries across the country. Also, it can help increase exports by strengthening the culture of entrepreneurship.

Dr Rauf suggested that compulsory courses about entrepreneurship should be a part of curriculum in varsities.

Former Director-General of the National Institute of Oceanography and Ministry of science and technology Dr Nuzhat Khan pointed out that the world was moving in a new direction and Pakistanis have to follow the market trends to compete on the international level.

Chairman of Karachi University Business School Dr Muhammad Danish Siddiqui said: “to understand economy we should realise the importance of social responsibility, broad consideration of society and businesses, contribution to the public interest, and corporate voluntary participation.”

Entrepreneurs must have the ability and knowledge to participate in local and international competitions and fundraising programmes so that their projects remain on the top over the years, he added.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2022