Northeast India – An abode of educated yet unemployed youth: Nagaland Gov

DIMAPUR, Sept 21, 2017: Terming the Northeast region as an 'unexplored paradise', Nagaland Governor PB Acharya said that the region's untapped potentials need to be explored and promoted in a positive manner by engaging the educated yet unemployed youth of the region.

In an exclusive interview with Nagaland-based journalist Lima Jamir, the governor said that the Northeast region has a lot of potentials but unfortunately lack of cooperation/ dialogue between the line departments like Industry, Education and Trade has rendered our youth educated yet unemployed.

"There should be a dialogue between the industry-trade-education sector to prepare the educated youth, equip them with the required skills to enter the industrial sector and become independent rather than relying only on government jobs," Mr Acharya said.

Referring to Northeast as an unexplored paradise, the Governor said that the region has been perceived as a hub of militant activities which is sad because, the tag given is not true. "The Northeast does houses more than 300 militant groups but they are all under control. So it is very important to change the perception and allow outsiders to see Northeast as it really is — A paradise" he added.

Citing that the best way to change the negative perception people have about the Northeast is through exchange programmes, Mr Acharya said "Students are the perfect ambassadors and we need to have more and more student exchange programmes if we want the truth about Northeast to be made known to the whole world."

Stating that the tourism sector in the region still has a long way to go in terms of infrastructure, the Nagaland Governor who also holds additional charge of Arunachal Pradesh said that the region suffers from the absence of good roads, good hotels, entertainment and proper guides.

He informed that the Government of India has pumped so much funds into the Northeast with an aim to develop the region while focusing on the youth as it considers them as 'the harbinger of prosperity'.

It is for the various government departments to work together to ensure that the educated youth doesn't end up becoming job seekers but job givers. "The educated youth should be equipped with the required skills to become entrepreneurial and positive in their approach," said Mr Acharya.

Highlighting the bitter truth, the Nagaland Governor said the Northeast region produces only educated and unemployed knowledge and this is attributed to the fact that neither the educational institutions nor the system has made known to the young people about the varied options that are available in the market.

The government of India has sanctioned Rs 2000 crore for skill education and prompt arrangements have been made in this regard and it is up to the educational institutions to work in tandem with the line departments to ensure that the youth become job givers rather than job seekers.

TNT News