Just over half of 21-to-25-year-olds are not in the education system or employed - a dangerous situation for this country, the Institute of Race Relations has warned. The institute launched its latest "Fast Facts on South African Youth" yesterday, the report's findings painting a bleak picture of the future for the young."We are seeing worrying trends where the youth constitute a smaller component of the economically active population," said the institute's head of research, Thuthukani Ndebele.The report said that close to 40% of African youths were unemployed.The unemployment rate for coloured youths was 28%, and less than 10% for white youths.Although there has been an increase in the number of young people studying at public universities in the past few years, Ndebele said the main concern was about how many of those enrolled finished their courses on time, or at all.He said the high drop-out rate could be attributed to poor primary and secondary education, which produced students not ready for university life."The government should invest more in primary and secondary education in order to build stronger groups of students who are prepared for university study," Ndebele said.He suggested that the government create an environment in which the private sector could create more jobs.Ndebele highlighted the need for the government to put an end to the student protests that have gripped the country.Students, he said, believe that there is sufficient money to fund free higher education.- Additional reporting by Shenaaz Jamal..