Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa has urged President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake to allocate funds in the 2027 Budget to provide employment opportunities for unemployed graduates, citing pledges made in the National People’s Power (NPP) election manifesto.
In a letter addressed to the President, Rajapaksa pointed out that the NPP manifesto presented ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election had pledged immediate measures to address graduate unemployment.
He said the manifesto, under the section titled “An Efficient Workforce – A Dignified Professional Life,” outlined plans to recruit thousands of graduates into several sectors.
According to Rajapaksa, the commitments included recruiting 20,000 graduates to the Teaching Service, 3,000 STEM graduates and 9,000 non-STEM graduates to the IT sector, and another 3,000 graduates to the Income Tax, Customs, Foreign Service and tourism sectors. These pledges collectively cover 35,000 graduate employment opportunities.
Rajapaksa called on the Government to make the necessary financial allocations in the upcoming Budget to implement these commitments and formulate a clear timeline for providing employment to unemployed graduates.
He also cited graduate employment programmes implemented during former President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure, including initiatives launched in 2005, 2011 and 2012 to absorb graduates into the public service.
“Taking these precedents into account, I request that the necessary funds be allocated to provide employment for all currently unemployed graduates and that a plan be formulated to implement this policy pledge within a clear timeframe,” Rajapaksa said. (Newswire)
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