ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka plans to hire 30,000 unemployed graduates into the public service, a budget for 2025 said with 10,000 billion rupees of taxes being allocated to give to those hired this year.
“Due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, and political instability, there is a large number of unemployed graduates and youth,” the budget said.
“We will implement a strategic recruitment plan to hire 30,000 individuals in essential public service roles, strictly according to cadre vacancies starting from this year.
“Accordingly, we propose to allocate Rs 10,000 million for this purpose in 2025.”
Unemployed graduates have been the key beneficiaries of the tax system, with over 150,000 being hired in batches over the past two decades on an ad hoc basis, according to an earlier government statement.
“Recruitment to the public service has been made without a proper evaluation of the skills and professional qualifications of the officers serving as Development Officers and Officers of Allied Service Categories,” according to a cabinet statement in December.
“It has not been possible to achieve the expected performance of those officers, as they were not provided with proper induction and in-service training, neither have they been formally assigned with duties and responsibilities related to the post.
“Similarly, more than 15,800 Development Officers are engaged in teaching in National and Provincial schools and a problematic situation has also arisen regarding recruiting them to the Teachers’ Service.”
According to the latest data there were 101,192 development officers, in the public service, as well 18,052 Samurdhi Development Officers.
There are only 38,000 nurses in the country, compared to 100,000 ‘development officers;.
Sri Lanka’s state workers were estimated at 1,339,459 in 2024, indicating that 11.2 percent was already made-up unemployed graduates.
While individuals with lower levels of qualifications who have passed the advanced level examination work in productive sectors, and those with even lower levels of education, generate economic activities that add to gross domestic product and tax revenues.
Unemployed graduates strike in front of Sri Lanka’s main railway station demanding salaries and pensions. (Colombo/Feb18/2025)
