The government has decided to expand the National Service Programme (NSP) in 20 poorest upazilas of the country to create employment opportunities for youths.
The cabinet gave its approval to a proposal of the Ministry of Youths and Sports in this regard in a weekly cabinet meeting held at Bangladesh Secretariat with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Cabinet Secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said 1,500 youths will be given training from each of the 20 upazilas which will be selected based on their poverty level as classified by Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The trained youths will find jobs at government offices on contractual basis.
He said according to the cabinet’s decision, this programme will continue till 2015-16 fiscal year.
The government launched the NSP in 2010 in line with its election pledge to provide the educated youths with jobs for two years after giving a three-month training. The youths are also given a certain amount of money as their daily allowance during their training.