In Nagaland, youth flag familiar problems: high unemployment, few govt jobs

However, his “primary motive” for pursuing the degree is different. He is fast approaching the upper age limit for eligibility for government jobs in the state – 35 – but having a Ph.D will yield a relaxation of the limit by five years and allow him to continue attempting for a government job till he is 40.

In Tseminyu, Benjimu, a 29-year-old who completed his Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the Nagaland University in 2019, says that he has given up on the examinations after two attempts.

“I made it to the interviews, but I felt like it was not possible to clear that stage without political connections. I did a diploma in electrician work and do some work here and there,” he says.

Benjimu and Khing are not isolated examples. In Nagaland, being educated and unemployed is common. As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report (July 2020-June 2021) that was released in June 2022, Nagaland had the highest unemployment rate in the country at 19.2 per cent among those aged 15 and above. Significantly, the unemployment rate among those with a postgraduate degree and above was 45.2 per cent, while it was 40.7 per cent for those with a graduate degree.

“Even though ours is a state with a small population, the unemployment rate is very high. If we go from home to home, every family will have a graduate or a post-graduate without a job,” says Naga Students’ Federation president Kegwayhun Tep.

Decades of conflict, insurgency, instability and “taxation” by underground, insurgent groups have resulted in limited investment in the state.

Kegwayhun says: “Other states have major cities where the youth can be employed in different sectors. In the absence of an active private sector, most young people in Nagaland feel like there is no option apart from government jobs. Then in every village, there will be a handful of youth who really want to invest in expanding their agriculture but do not know how to go about it.” Tep. Lezo Putsure, the founder of Educentre, a Nagaland-based business school focusing on startups and entrepreneurs, says that based on their studies, there are about 50 government jobs for the 14,000 people writing the examinations every year.

Promising to nurture entrepreneurship and promote skill development, several parties have sought to address the issue In their manifestos for the coming Nagaland Legislative Assembly elections.

The BJP has promised two lakh “self-employment opportunities” in the next five years for “youth empowerment” as well as investment of Rs. 500 crore to launch a Nagaland Skill Development University. The NDPP has promised to launch an “innovative youth employment scheme based on merit”, introduce a new industrial policy to support local entrepreneurs, and establish manufacturing hubs. Nagaland-based Rising People’s Party, the newest political party in the fray, is promising subsidised loans to encourage entrepreneurship. The Congress has promised compulsory skill training after class 10 and “jobs and earning opportunities for all”.

However, young voters in the state believe the issue has long been neglected.

Putsure believes the corruption in the election system and the governance model have played a role in the “neglect of employment generation as a political and administrative issue’.

“During elections, politicians spend a lot to influence voting. During their terms as MLAs, the focus is spent on recovering their expenses. So there are some sectors that have not been looked into,” he says.

One of these neglected areas, he adds, is technical and skill education.

“Many young people are educated but unemployable because even after getting a college degree, they are not skilled enough to succeed in the professional workspace. There’s a gap between education and employment. We are focused on arts, management and science which is old school. We need more professional courses,” he said.

This is also echoed by Khing.

“When I was in my early 20s, I really felt that there was no other option – my parents always spoke about the security of a government job. After giving so many years to these exams, I feel like it is too late for me to switch tracks. But maybe vocational education could help younger people and help with identifying opportunities for businesses and developing them,” he says.

The campaigning for the Nagaland polls ends Saturday and the state will vote on February 27. The results will be declared on March 2.