by Charle.S.Perera

Some time back I posted an article in Lankaweb, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- Where every Blake, Chilcott and Hogg, talks of Human Rights of terrorists, nobody speaks of the Human Rights, Grievances and Aspirations of Unemployed Graduates. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚», which was about the unemployed graduates and the ridiculous masquarade of giving some of them a grueling physical training under a scheme with the imposing title of Yovun Diriya, with the false promise of giving them government employment.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ After the army style training imposed upon about 2088 youthful unemployed graduates of both sexes, they were sent away without any guarantee of employment. Following the governmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s failure to keep to its promise of providing them with employments they took to the streets to attract the attention of the Ministry of Education to their plight with manifestations and sit-ins in front of the Fort Railway Station.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Subsequently after several attacks of tear gaz, and water jets, of the 2088 poor unemployed graduates who went through the Yovun Diriya ordeal, 1044 of them were provided with government employment in the Education Ministry, which as you may see from what some of these Yovun Diriya trainees say is an employment which leave them ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« neither here nor there ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚».

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Under the designation of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« non academic staff ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» they have become bonded slaves to an employer- a Principle of a school, to serve him or her according to his or her whim and fancy, without any prospect of promotion, without any possibility of being one day offered a teaching appointment, accepted into the Administrative Service, or even without any hope of ameliorating their present conditions of service.

From time to time the unemployed Graduates have been recruited under four different categories:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Project Assistants ( weda satahan sahakara)

Management Assistants ( kalamanakara sahakara)

Planning and Primary Assistants ( selasum saha mulys sahakara)

PeopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s council Assistants ( janasabha sahakara )

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Yovun Diriya Trainees who went through the grueling physical training course, have been recruited under the third category namely as Planning and Primary Assistants.

They have been employed in schools, without the minimum of proper working conditions required under the International Convention of Labour.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ At a recent Resident Workshop ( -Nevasika Wedamuluwa) held in Kandy by the Ministry of Education to look into their grievances, and prepare them to take over other responsibilities.(without finding a way out of their hopeless situation), they spoke out, to complain of their situation.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ One of them complained that the chair that has been given to him to sit on is broken and that he has to set the leg of it every morning before he could sit on it. Another ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« non-academic girl graduate employee ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» complains that the staff room is out of bounds to her and once when she kept her hand bag in the Staff room it was given back to her with the strict instruction that she should not keep her .hand bag or any of her personal items in the staff room.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Another who has been asked to occupy the computer spends her time typing letters drafted by others the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« Madam ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» or the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« Sir ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚». The table on which the computer has been placed is too high for her to reach and she says, that using the mouse of the computer when typing letters is a painful task and the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« employer ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» pays least attention to her complaints. They have not been given any type of training, even in the use of the Computers. But yet they use the computers as best as they can.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ In another case the Principle had asked the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-non-academic graduate employeeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to prepare a CD including a work plan. When she said that she has no idea how it should be done, the Principle had warned her that it is her duty and to find a way to do it. This poor Selasum saha Mulya Shakara had gone to a computer technician and paid out of her own pocket to prepare the CD. She got no credit for it, nor was she paid, because according to the Principle it was her duty.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ These unfortunate graduates, say they are in fact reduced to being sweepers, scavengers, waiters, secretaries, peons and messengers. Some of them have to prepare tea for the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« Madam ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» and the staff, who even leave the empty cups after they have ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« enjoyed ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» the tea to be washed by the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« non-academic graduate employee ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚».

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Another of these unfortunates says with tears in her eyes that she even cleans the toilets. Yet another complains that she is asked to sweep the floors, while an arrogant ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« peon ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» a Office Assistant ( karya sahakara) who has had long service in the school office, is never asked to perform such a low task and the Principle directs such work to the junior ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« non-academic graduate employee ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The teaching staff treats the non-academic graduate employee as girl typists calling them ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« Miss ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚», without calling them more familiarly by their names. They are not allowed to even replace an absent member of the teaching staff, and the subjects in which they are qualified not being put into use gradually ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« escape ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» from their memories, and they would soon be reduced to ignorant nincompoops, lowly clerks without any prospects.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ At the Workshop they were taught how to maintain a petty cash account. One ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« non-academic graduate ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» had dared to speak up to say that he is a graduated in Fine Arts, and he knows next to nothing about keeping accounts, and asked the Directors conducting the work shop to give them teaching appointments.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The answer the director had given seems sardonic. He had said that they cannot be given teaching appointments, adding that he too had started from being a Clerk in a government office, and he studied and worked his way through, to become the Director. But the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« non-academic graduate employees ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» have no hope of ever being even a teachers.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Strangely though 300 of these in Sabaragamuwa have been given teaching appointments on the initiative of the Chief Minister of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But the 300 of them in the Central Province are denied teaching appointments which undoubtedly is a discrimination that the Minister of Education Mr. Premajayantha should look into in the name of justice and fair play. Some of the schools where these ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-non-academic graduates ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ are employed are short of teaching staff , but the Yovun Diriya non academic graduates are not allowed even to replace an absent teacher, which would be a fair thing to do at least to recognize the fact of their being qualified graduates.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ There are much too many grievances of these ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚« unfortunates ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚» to write about. And I write this as an appeal to the Minister to look more positively in to the grievances of these non-academic staff who were made to suffer doing military exercises in the Yovun Diriya Project. It would be justifiable that these 300 young graduates in the Central Province and the others working in other provinces are also given teaching appointments( as and when they become available), as it had been done for the 300 of them in Sabaragamuwa .

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Minister should also look into the situation of the balance 1044 Yovun Diriya Trainees who have been completely left out, and are still without employment. It is the duty of the government to help these young graduates taken under the Yovun Diriya Project and find them employment at least as compensation for a military style training under which they were made to suffer, holding before them the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- carrot ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…- of a government employment. It had been an experiment of the government, where the young unemployed graduates were used asƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ guinea pigsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦..to Mr. Wiswa Warnapala Minister of Higher Education on 132 holders of the National Diploma to teach English.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Minister of Higher Education Mr.Wiswa Warnapala has not done any better. His Ministry organized a course in the University of Colombo for a National Diploma to teach English. 132 of the trainees received the Diplomas at a ceremony with pomp and pageantry.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But they remain in their homes with their National Diplomas in English and none of them have been offered any employment ever since. All these Diploma Courses and the ceremonies must have cost a tidy some of money to the Ministry of Higher Education, and some at least may have profited from the program, though not the winners of the Diploma.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Minister of Higher Education seems to be satisfied of his praise worthy effort of organizing the National Diploma Course to teach English. But his satisfaction has not given any benefit to the innocent trainees , who had only been given a false hope of the possibility of employment. But nothing has been done to help them after the distribution of Diplomas. They have been the victims of a Ministerial swindle !

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Minister Wiswa Warnapala had not taken into account the difficulties some of these young women from out side Colombo went through in following the course, hoping that the difficulties that they under go will be compensated by getting an employment as an English Teacher.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Coming from outside Colombo to this course they had to find accommodation, and that being very expensive in Colombo the parents of these girls had to face the difficulty of finding money to find lodgings, and undergo mental suffering leaving their children alone in Colombo without being able to protect them from the difficult situation that prevailed then in Colombo, with the terrorism that was still threatening Colombo with explosives.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is hoped that better council will prevail and the Minister of Higher Education would step in to help these young women find employment as teachers of English for which they were trained.