Nearly 10,000 educated, differently-abled youth to get jobs

By Maheesha Mudugamuwa

The Public Administration and Home Affairs Ministry will commence a programme with the backing of around 30 private and public sector institutions, to provide employment to over 10,000 educated, differently-abled youth, a Ministry official said.

The statistics reveal that nearly five percent of Sri Lankans were physically or mentally retarded.

The Government has also commenced programmes to rehabilitate the youth from the Security Forces, who were disabled due to the conflict situation and encourage them to be partners and use their skills and strengths for the future development programmes.

The official said that all steps will be taken in the near future to remove barriers in the government sector which inconvenienced people with disabilities.

The Ministry had also taken steps to provide more opportunities for people with disabilities in the State service sector, he added.

The Ministry had allocated three percent of State sector employment opportunities for people with disabilities in 1988, by a special circular and the Cabinet had decided to promote it in government and private sectors in 2004.

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