The Government will grant permanent appointments to 51,000 newly recruited trainee graduates starting from January 3, Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said.
Minister Gunawardena chairs the Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed to look into the matters pertaining to graduates recruited to public sector institutes.
He said the Cabinet has already approved the proposal to absorb the graduates into the public sector. The program is being implemented under the direction of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to provide employment for youth who have passed out of state universities, the Minister said.
All 51,000 graduates who are currently undergoing training will be positioned in their due place of work in the public sector as Development Officers on January 3.
Of them, the services of around 42,500 who have completed the one-year training program will be confirmed on the same day. Those who were recruited for the training program in February and March 2021 will be confirmed on April 1, 2022 on completion of their training.
Minister Gunawardena said the President presented the Cabinet Memorandum in February last year to provide jobs to youth. Despite the economic hardships faced by the entire world including Sri Lanka due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the decision taken by the Government to confirm 51,000 graduates in the public service was another step taken in line with the President’s vision of strengthening the youth.
The Minister said 58,116 appointments have been made under the “Placement of Unemployed Graduates and Diploma Holders Program” and “the confirmation of permanent employment of Graduates and Diploma Holders recruited last year to the Public Service / Provincial Public Service Program”.
At present, 51,000 unemployed graduates are undergoing training. The recruits for this training program should have completed a degree course recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC) or an equivalent Diploma recognised by the UGC by December 31, 2020. The recruits are undergoing training at the Divisional Secretaries, Government Departments, Ministries and Provincial Councils.
Minister Gunawardena said there is a possibility of providing 22,000 appointments in the teaching service. However, as the first step, all 51,000 trainees would be made permanent in the public service. The Minister said those who wish to join the teaching profession (whether currently trained in the field of education or not) will be given the opportunity to apply and join the teaching service in accordance with the Teacher Service Act.