Tunisia: Understanding Conflict 2012 - Johns Hopkins School of ...

mentioned earlier, a high number of youth with a university education are unemployed.
This harsh reality has caused many youth to identify education reform as a crucial need
for Tunisia’s transition.
Many youth were concerned that education reform was not adequately identified
by politicians as a serious issue during the NCA campaign period. Youth currently in the
university system are greatly concerned that Tunisia’s universities do not properly
prepare students for a career, and that finding a good job, even with a degree, is difficult
after graduation (Personal Interview, Tunis University Students, Tunis, 21 January 2012).
This was often attributed to the fact that the university produces many graduates in the
humanities fields and fewer in the sciences. Many students graduate with little prior work
experience or practical training and either accept any job they can get or hold out for a
long period with the hope that one day a position that lives up to their training will be
available. Also career guidance counseling is normally not available to students, and few
students consider internships or student mentorships during their studies. As a result,
bright but inexperienced students hope that they can obtain either menial government or
teaching assignments because they do not know what else they are qualified for, due to
lack of career counseling (Personal Interview, Tunis University Students, Tunis, 21
January 2012). Current students who find themselves in this situation suggested the
government needs to change the curriculum to provide more job counseling and offer
more practical training in the technical fields. It came as a huge disappointment that none
of these ideas were made a priority during the election campaigns and are still shrugged
off by elected officials today. It seemed that one of the most efficient ways to improve
the youth’s unemployment trap was something that the politicians failed to discuss.
Politicization of Tunisian Youth
The greatest deficiency that Tunisian youth face today is that they have never been
incorporated into party politics during the Ben Ali era. The youth have gone their whole
lives without having a voice in the political process and never seriously being asked to
give their input to the political future of their country. Like many Tunisians of all ages,
the youth have very little idea of what democratic culture means, let alone what it means
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