Meghalaya is suffering through a brain drain among the youth because the state government has been unable to create enough jobs or encourage enough growth in the private sector, the new president of the Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress has said.
Adrian L Chyne told Highland Post that lots of qualified youth have to leave the state to seek job opportunities elsewhere, which is a huge loss to a state that should be trying to catch up with the rest of the country.
Many of those who are unable to get work at home or further afield sadly fall prey to any one of several serious addictions.
“The Youth Congress will be coming up with various awareness programmes and create a platform so that our youth who are overshadowed by unemployment and various other problems can voice their troubles out,” Chyne said. “We want to educate our youth on the need for good policymakers who can implement policies and see that the aspiration of our youth is not shut down. I want to hear the aspirations of the youth and hear their voices and want them to have a future where they can feel hopeful.”
Anti-social activities have soared, in many cases carried out by youth who have lost hope and disturbances in law and order that were unheard of before have become more common, he added.
On the subject of drug addiction, Chyne stated that it should not be treated as a crime but as a disease that requires treatment and a social issue that calls for help.
He added that the youth crave a sense of purpose and a place where they belong, be it employment, skill training, etc, but when they are deprived of such opportunities they resort to some relief. A failure to tackle this issue now, through rehabilitation centres for the addicted and investment in the future to create jobs, will hurt the state even more in the coming years, he concluded.
