RAJSHAHI, Sept 11: Known nationwide as a "Green City, Clean City," Rajshahi has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the most liveable urban areas in the country. Yet, despite this image, the region faces a severe employment crisis.
Every year, thousands of graduates complete their studies, only to find themselves struggling to secure jobs. The lack of opportunities has left families and society grappling with rising unemployment and deepening frustration.
Local sources say most young people in Rajshahi aim for government jobs, but the limited number of posts and intense competition keep many locked out. With very few industries or factories in the private sector, alternative employment options remain scarce. The absence of significant investment in sectors like IT, garments, food processing, and agriculture-based industries has worsened the problem.
Rahidul Islam of Talaimari, who graduated two years ago, said he applied to 36 organizations in one year but failed to secure a single position. "It seems you either need money or family connections to get a job," he said.
Kazi Mujahid, a philosophy graduate from Rajshahi University, added, "For us, there is no guarantee of finding work after finishing our studies. Almost everyone rushes to Dhaka because all opportunities are centralised there. If industries and businesses were established in Rajshahi, employment would have increased here. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for decades."
Syed Sajid Ali, an MBA graduate from Rajshahi University, shared similar frustration. Despite attending several interviews in Dhaka, he failed to secure work due to intense competition and lack of influential connections. "Rajshahi is called an education-friendly city and is admired nationwide for its cleanliness, yet we remain unemployed. There is immense potential here, but instead, we wander from door to door for jobs. It is both shameful and frustrating," he said.
Students echo this frustration. Taslima Rumpa, a management student at Rajshahi College, urged both government and private initiatives to create local employment opportunities. "We need industries built around our river transport system to improve trade and create jobs. No student should have to remain unemployed," she said.
The problem is not limited to a few individuals. Thousands of young men and women in Rajshahi share the same fate-graduating with no jobs in sight. With no large factories, no garments sector, and limited agro-processing industries, many are forced to migrate to Dhaka or elsewhere.
Sourav Hossain Sharif, another student, said, "We dream of a good job after our studies, but in reality, there are no opportunities. Staying in Rajshahi means your future is uncertain."
Recently, a glimmer of hope emerged when Pran-RFL Group reopened the long-closed Rajshahi Textile Mills in Naodapara, promising 12,000 jobs. Around 2,000 positions have already been filled. Yet every day, hundreds of men and women still wait anxiously outside its gates in hopes of being hired-proof of the desperate need for work.
A teacher from Rajshahi College, requesting anonymity, said, "Although Rajshahi is called an education hub, educated youth here remain jobless. Past governments spoke of development but ignored the pressing need for employment."
Experts stress that industrialisation and entrepreneurship must be encouraged in Rajshahi. Professor S.M. Ekram Ullah, Dean of the Social Science Faculty at Rajshahi University, said, "To create employment, the government must first adopt a clear policy. Rajshahi has a large unemployed youth population. Industries-whether agriculture, silk, mango and litchi processing, IT parks, or small enterprises-must be promoted here. Vacant government land should be leased for small businesses, youth must be given capital and easy loans, and entrepreneurship should be supported."
The youth of Rajshahi demand urgent regional industrial development and job creation. They believe this is the only way to reduce unemployment and enable Rajshahi to contribute equally to national development.
