Brunei's Islamic Graduates Face Uncertain Future
By Ariffin Bakar

Bandar Seri Begawan - Unemployed Islamic graduates in the country are rising by the numbers and the figure is increasing every year.

Hundreds of locals complete their graduation in Islamic studies every year mainly from universities in Brunei, Malaysia, Egypt and Jordan. And many wait for a couple of months to even a year or more for a permanent job offers from the government or in the private sector.

But what concerns most, according to some observers is that job opportunities are drying up.

Every graduate dreams of landing a good job but with a background in Islamic studies, a graduate's chances of finding employment in another field is next to nothing, a fresh graduate said.

Although the government has introduced the Apprenticeship Scheme for tackling the unemployment crisis, the demand for unemployed Islamic graduates is minimal compared to other unemployed graduates with technical, business and managerial expertise, said observers.

One unemployed Islamic graduate a government-scholarship student from Al-Azhar completed her studies in 2000 said that she applied several times for a teacher's post but is yet to receive a positive response.

While many Al-Azhar students on government scholarships graduated in 2000 remained unemployed, other students who graduated in 2001 and even 2002 have been given jobs with several local Arabic institutions, she lamented.

"I've been to the authorities several times but was urged to be patient. Of course being an Islamic scholar, patience is needed, but even that has its limit," she said.

She said that it could be a technical misunderstanding, but it should have been resolved long back.

According to sources, some 116 Islamic graduates have been waitlisted to be interviewed for appropriate placements.

If the situation is such for scholarship students, non-scholarship students face an even bleaker future, said a student from the latter category.

Most of them understood why preference was given to scholarship holders, but wondered why there was no explanation from relevant authorities when they apply for jobs.

"We applied for the post for a couple of times since a few years back, but regrettably last year's fresh scholarship graduates were employed," said a disappointed graduate.

Currently, unemployed Islamic graduates in the country have joined workshops, short-courses and tutorial classes organised by relevant authorities to occupy themselves. Some are also seen giving religious talks in mosques and at functions and appearing in television and radio during Islamic events and daily activities. They have been busy developing their skills and knowledge and widen their opportunities.

The Islamic Syariah Court in the country has lifted the spirits of the unemployed graduates who hope that it will provide more job opportunities for them in the future.

In the meantime the temporary solution for these graduates is to grab any job that come their way to cover their daily necessities, said a student. (Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin)

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