Manzoor Ul Hassan at his roadside cart selling dry fruits and spices in Shopian, south Kashmir. After completing a PhD in political science, he spent two years applying for college teaching positions without success. He started a coaching center for higher secondary classes, but when that failed after one year thanks to a government policy change, he turned to street vending/ RAJA ZAID

By Rehan Qayoom Mir

Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir: “I have no future here”, said S*, a 32-year-old PhD holder from Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), who asked not to be identified. “Education is valued on paper, not in reality.”

S completed her PhD in Botany on the impact of climate change on J&K’s biodiversity in 2019. 

She said she spent years studying because she believed that education would build a future for her. 

Instead, multiple rejections, in response to her applications for a job as assistant professor in five institutions over the past six years have left her disillusioned.

“I applied to so many colleges, but they always had an excuse, too qualified, not enough industry experience, or just another contractual position with no security,” she said. 

She now tutors school students in science while saving money in preparation to leave Kashmir.

Despite promises from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 to boost employment in the region and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders to create 500,000 jobs, data show that J&K has one of the highest unemployment rates in India, particularly among its youth and women.

This story was originally published in article-14.com. Read the full story here.