80% unemployed graduates are women

Some 80% of unemployed graduates in the country are women who struggle due to no available income which will have grave social and economic implications if the government does not address the problem, the Combined Association of Unemployed Graduates said today .

The association threatened to go on an all-island protest next week if the government did not provide jobs for over 40,000 unemployed graduates in the country.

The association’s Convener Dammika Munasinghe said this will be a growing burden to the country if the government does not provide jobs for them. “With the increasing cost of living it has become vital for men and women to have jobs but the government has not paid any heed to our pleas,” 

Munasinghe said since 2005 the number of unemployed graduates has increased from 5,000 to 40,000 despite the governments promises to provide jobs for unemployed graduates.

He said according to the Mahinda Chinthana the government was expected to provide 10,000 jobs in 2006. In the 2007 budget 8,000 jobs were promised and in the 2008 budget 15,000 were promised. In 2009 14,500 jobs were promised and in August this year 30,000 jobs were promised to unemployed graduates and non-graduates but that they were not provided.

“These promises were never fulfilled by the government despite their promises. We are asking them once more and to keep their word,” he said. (By Olindhi Jayasundere)

Unemployed graduates launch fresh agitation

November 10, 2011, 10:00 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Unemployed graduates would launch their newest protest campaign demanding immediate jobs from the Southern Province tomorrow (12).

Media Spokesman for the Combined Union of Unemployed Graduates Dhammika Munasinghe told The Island that their members would protest in Matara and Galle.

He said that they organized a series of public seminar in parallel to the protest and it would be held at Matara YMBA hall and Galu Urumaya hall in Galle at 2.00pm.

"Our protest in Eastern Province will be launched from Batticaloa on Sunday (13)," Munasinghe said adding that an awareness seminar will take place in Batticaloa Town hall.

According to him, the government cheated them for five years and their members as asked were involved in political work of the ruling party in every election on the promise of providing jobs.

But, there are over 40,000 graduates still awaiting jobs while more than 19,000 vacancies exist in the public sector, he said.

Munasinghe said that there were only 5000 unemployed graduates in the country when President Mahinda Rajapaksa took office in 2005 as the Chandrika Kumaratunga’s previous government provided jobs for 40,000 graduates.

"However, incumbent President Rajapaksa failed to provide jobs even for 5000 graduates so far," he said.

Munasinghe said that they were seeking an acceptable solution to their agitation from the budget to be presented in parliament on Nov. 18.

Knife attacks leave six undergrads injured

November 10, 2011, 9:56 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

A bloody clash between two student factions of the Kelaniya University’s Science Faculty early morning yesterday resulted in six undergraduates being injured.

Two of the injured were admitted to the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama and the other four, were treated and discharged from the Ragama and Kiribathgoda hospitals.

University sources said that one student faction had slashed their rivals with knives as the latter were on their way to the university library.

Police were rushed to disperse irate undergraduates following the attack and they were sent to respective hostels by university buses.Acting police spokesman DIG Maxi Proctor told The Island that security had been tightened in the university with police personnel deployed from the Kriribathgoda police.

He said that four injured students were discharged after treatment by the Ragama Teaching Hospital and Kiribathgoda Hospital, but two others were still warded in the Ragama hospital.

"This clash originated three months ago among two student factions divided on political ideologies," Dean of the Science Faculty Prof. Nalin de Silva said.

He said that one student faction has a majority in the faculty and one has the majority in the hostel.

However, Prof. Silva said that he asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa to intervene to solve the problem as university administration kept silent on the issue.

He accused the UNP and JVP students of backing the faction that carried out the knife attack.

Spokesman for one student faction alleged that Prof. de Silva wanted to maintain a group of students who only tolerate his political views and they were victimized by them.

"They always try to suppress others," he said.

Spokesman for the Students Council of the University Janaka Bandara said that the Science Faculty students union was not under their control and they had no involvement in yesterday’s incident.

The pro – JVP student union said that Faculty Dean always tried to put the responsibility for clashes on them.

"We strongly deny any involvement as claimed by the Dean," Bandara said adding "it’s an internal conflict in the Science Faculty."

There are two separate investigations conduct by the university administration and the Kiribathgoda Police into yesterday’s clash.