By IANS,
New Delhi : Social networking sites such as Facebook and Orkut have definitely caught everyone’s fancy, including those in the civil society and education sector. Experts at a function here on the occasion of International Youth day Tuesday suggested creating such sites for the youth to network and discuss more serious issues such as drug abuse and HIV/AIDS.
R. S. Bhadoria, president of the Nau Jawan Kisan Manch, said he has been working on such a network which will bring the country’s youth together.
“As of now, all the major youth groups are those that are affiliated to the political parties. I am looking forward to creating such a network which will bring together young people from all walks of life to discuss and debate on issues which affect them,” Bhadoria said.
“Probably a social networking site like Facebook would do the trick in catching the youth’s attention and getting them to take initiatives to curb such evils like drug abuse,” he added.
Bhadoria’s suggestion came after a comment by one of the guests from Nagaland in India’s northeast who said that for lack of opportunities and employability options, many youth, out of frustration, have started taking to drugs. This has escalated the number of HIV cases in the state to a scary high.
While a whole range of issues were discussed at the function whose focus was the role of youth in progress and development, that of education and employability were the major ones.
“The need of the hour is skill-based education… which promises a young person a safe future. With the number of educated but unemployed youth in the country, many a youth is disillusioned about the education system.
“Vocational training, therefore, is very important, especially in the rural areas. And, of course, linkages with the market, which shows which sector has the highest demand, are important,” said an educationist, Shalini Sharma.