The tale of a labourer who holds two master’s degrees

PESHAWAR: After failure to get a decent job matching his qualification, Noor Rahman is compelled to do odd jobs to support his family despite having two master's degrees and some professional certificates.

Now 39 years old, he tried for years to get a job in any government department after his master's in Library Science in 2004 but failed. About five years ago he lost hope and started doing hard labour in the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-ruled 'Naya' Khyber Pakhtunkhwa instead of wasting more time and money in the hope of getting a decent job.

A video clip was recently shared on the social media in which Noor Raman was shown working at an orchard of plums. The News interviewed him at the orchard near Jalala village in Mardan district where he picks the fruit from the trees and works as a watchman. And he gets Rs12,000 per month only.

Noor Rahman looks much older than his age as he has gone through difficult times. Born in a small village Gwarati Shah near Lundkhwar town in Mardan district in 1978, Noor Rahman holds two master's degrees and some professional certificates.

However, his degrees couldn't help him find a decent job in the society where the slogans of merit and fairplay are raised for political point-scoring. After getting his bachelor's degree in science from the Government College Lundkhwar, he got admission to the Library Science Department of the University of Peshawar. He did Master's in Library Science in 2004.

Since then, he has applied for many positions through the provincial Public Service Commission and qualified the written test on several occasions, but he was not selected for any job.

"I topped the Public Service Commission's written test twice. But I was not appointed. Perhaps I am not good in viva," the soft-spoken Noor Rahman told this reporter. He kept applying for jobs till 2012 without losing heart, but he seemed dogged by bad luck.

Meanwhile, he did another master's in Islamiyat in 2009 in the hope to get a job, but it too couldn't help him to get employed. Being a hardworking student and an offspring of a poor family, Noor Rahman also studied to get some diplomas and certificates in the hope of landing a job. He qualified the dispenser course and got a pharmacy-C certificate.

A father of two kids, Noor Rahman got married in 2013. He had to look after his mother and sisters as well. After marriage, he stopped applying for jobs and started working as a labourer. "So far I have worked as a daily wager in road construction, timber markets and other odd jobs," he said.

Currently, he works at the plums orchard. "I get paid Rs12,000 a month which is insufficient to meet my family's expenses. We find it hard to keep body and soul together," he maintained.

Though seems frustrated, Noor Rahman is not ashamed of doing the hard work. But he is hurt and depressed whenever he sees his class-fellows and university colleagues doing white-collar jobs. To a question, the otherwise jolly Noor Rahman struggled to hold back his tears. His voice was choked with emotion and tears started streaming down his beard.

He said he opted for odd jobs as he didn't have the resources to start some small business. He no more applies for jobs as he is busy working and also cannot afford to pay for the bank drafts for jobs offered through public service commission and national testing service.

Presently, he is hoping against hope that some miracle might happen and he may get a job. "If I am able to get a government job, it would help restore my confidence and make me financially stable. You know a person in our society is judged by his financial status rather than by his abilities," he argued.