Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) MP Namal Rajapaksa has asked President and Finance Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake to set aside money in the 2027 Budget for jobs for unemployed graduates.
In a letter to the President, Rajapaksa cited the National People’s Power (NPP) manifesto for the 2024 Presidential Election, which promised immediate measures on graduate unemployment. He said it included recruiting 20,000 graduates to the Teaching Service, 3,000 STEM graduates and 9,000 non-STEM graduates to the IT sector, and 3,000 more to the Income Tax, Customs, Foreign Service and tourism sectors, a total of 35,000 posts.
Rajapaksa also pointed to graduate recruitment programmes launched in 2005, 2011 and 2012 under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
He asked the Government to allocate the necessary funds and draw up a plan with a clear timeframe. The Government has not yet responded to the letter, according to the information available.
The Budget for 2027 is yet to be presented to Parliament.
