DHAKA, July 29 (BSS) - To provide jobs for the unemployed
educated youth, the third pilot project of the National Service
Programme (NSP) is going to be launched at Gopalganj Saturday
(July 31).

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to launch the
epoch-making NSP pilot project at Sheikh Kamal Stadium in
Gopalganj fulfilling yet another election pledge of Awami League.

During her visit to Gopalganj, the ancestral home of Father
of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, she will also
distribute stipend among the students who secured GPA-5 in the
last SSC examinations and attend a reception at Bangabandhu Mazar
complex in Tungipara.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate Tungipara branch of Basic
Bank in Patgati Bazar Pourasabha Market and `Bangabandhu Poverty
Reduction Training Complex" under skilled manpower development
programmes of BGMEA on the premises of Gimadanga Government High
School in Tungipara.

She will lay the foundation stone of 100 MW peaking power
plant on Haridaspur Saptapalli High School premises. Power
Development Board is implementing the project.

She will join a public rally organized by the Gopalganj
District Awami League in the afternoon at Sheikh Kamal Stadium.

The Prime Minister will start her programme in Gopalganj by
placing wreath at the Mazar of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and offer munajat there.

State Minister for Youth and Sports Ahad Ali Sarker will
chair the launching ceremony in Gopalganj and Secretary of the
Ministry Mahbub Ahmed will deliver the welcome speech. Commerce
Minister Faruk Khan, Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim MP, Zahid Hassan
Russell MP, Sheikh Kabir Hossain, Alhaj Kazi Akram Uddin Ahmed,
Alhaj Sheikh M Abdullah and Sheikh Mohammad Ali (Abu Miah) will
attend as the special guests.

Earlier, the Prime Minister launched the maiden NSP in
Kurigram on March 6 and later in Barguna on May 6 this year under
the first phase of the project with an ultimate goal of providing
jobs to country's about 7.20 lakh unemployed youths in the coming
years.

The programme has already been proved to be very successful
in Kurigram where a total of 9,716 male and female youths out of
31,358 selected, have so far been provided with temporary jobs
for two years by imparting them 3-month training in 10 modules.

Talking to BSS, Jafar Ali MP of Kurigram-2 constituency
thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for pioneering the NSP from
Kurigram where the youths and common people have already started
getting rid of poverty and hope for a brighter future.

Deputy Director of Kurigram Youth Development Department
(YDD) Ashraful Islam today told BSS that training courses in all
10 trades for the second batch of 9,950 selected male and female
youths will start soon in the district to be followed by the
third batch.

In Barguna, 3-month training courses in 10 trades of 4,000
out of selected 13,734 youths in the five upazilas are now
nearing completion by 178 Master Trainers at 20 venues, said
Deputy Director of the Barguna YDD Mostaq Ahmed.

"We have completed all formalities for launching the 3-month
training to be conducted by 307 Master Trainers from August 1 at
different venues in all five upazilas in 10 modules for 5,000
male and female youths out of the total 19,394 selected," DD of
the Gopalganj YDD Kohinoor Miah said.

Deputy Secretary (Youth-2) of Youth and Sports Ministry
Parveen Banu said that as per the election pledge, the present
government has been implementing the NSP Pilot Project in
Kurigram, Barguna and Gopalganj districts in the first phase.

After completion of the Pilot Project, the programme will be
expanded throughout the country as per the government decision in
the coming years to provide temporary jobs to male and female
unemployed youths with minimum SSC level qualifications, she
added.

The selected candidates are to get Taka 100 per day during
their three-month training courses and later Taka 200 daily wages
after getting temporary jobs primarily for two-year period in
these respective districts, she added.

Parveen Banu said that the project is aimed at building a
happy and prosperous Bangladesh free from hunger, poverty and
social discriminations by saving the country's unemployed
educated youths from the course of unemployment.

While selecting the unemployed candidates, special emphasis
was given on those who are crossing their age for government
services, remaining unemployed for a long and children of the
Freedom Fighters or from the distressed families, senior
officials said.

After completion of the training courses, the unemployed
youths will be appointed and attached to the different government
departments, primary schools and other working places, primarily
for a two-year term.

Despite hectic efforts, Parul Begum and Zinnatun Nahar said
they lost hopes of getting any job as their age limit expired.
But, they are now working at Kanthalbari Union Health Complex in
Kurigram under the NSP and it gave them a new life.