Two years after graduation, still waiting

Every family in Bangladesh knows someone with a degree and no job. We sit for one recruitment exam after another, pay coaching fees we cannot afford, and watch the age limit creep closer. Meanwhile the advice we hear is "start something yourself", as if a bank would lend to a graduate with no collateral.

Unemployment is not only about numbers. It is about a young man who cannot propose marriage, a young woman told to wait at home, parents who sold land for a certificate that opens no door. Frustration like that does not stay private for long; it shows up on the streets.

What would help: publish recruitment calendars and stick to them, end the quota-and-connection culture in hiring, make technical and vocational training something respected rather than a fallback, and let small businesses register in a day instead of a season. Give this generation a fair shot and it will build the country.