From Pagers to Prompts: Why Pakistan Must Urgently Rethink Education and Employment in the Age of AI
In an era where smartphones hold more power than early supercomputers, Nadir Qureshi reflects on Pakistan’s technological journey from pagers to AI. This thought-provoking article highlights the urgent need to reform our outdated education and employment systems, urging policymakers to embrace skill-based learning, AI integration, and digital transformation to prepare 250 million Pakistanis for the future.
Nadir Qureshi
7/8/20252 min read
From Pagers to Prompts: Why Pakistan Must Urgently Rethink Education and Employment in the Age of AI
Written by Nadir Qureshi
In today’s hyper-connected world, where the universe of knowledge fits into a five-inch smartphone screen, we are living in a reality our past generations couldn’t even imagine. Technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and microchips are no longer futuristic dreams. They are the present, shaping how we live, work, and think.
But just thirty years ago, Pakistan and much of the world was a completely different place. The '90s era introduced us to pagers and brick-sized mobile phones that were more weightlifting tools than communication devices. A single missed call used to cost us credit. Installing Windows 95 often meant staring at a progress bar that said “1000 years remaining.” And yet, here we are today, chatting with AI models like ChatGPT on tiny smartphones, accessing the entire world’s knowledge through just a well-phrased prompt.
Those of us who grew up during the 1990s have lived through an extraordinary shift that turned science fiction into daily routine.
This is not just a nostalgic reflection. It’s a wake-up call.
As the world accelerates into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, we in Pakistan must pause and ask: Are we preparing our people to survive, thrive, and lead in this era?
Sadly, the answer is no.
Our education system is still rooted in rote memorization, outdated syllabi, and unrealistic expectations. Our employment structures continue to reward degrees over actual ability, and policymaking remains several steps behind the global curve.
We can’t afford this delay anymore.
The urgency is real. We need to transform our education ecosystem, embrace skill-based learning, integrate AI tools like ChatGPT into daily workflows, and most importantly, create a culture of critical thinking and digital fluency. The old criteria for academic and professional success are now obsolete.
It's time for policymakers to act. Not tomorrow. Not next year. But now. We must develop new frameworks that support skill development, digital transformation, and AI literacy at every level from classrooms to boardrooms.
This is not just a matter of progress.
It’s a matter of survival in the modern world.
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