GUWAHATI, March 11 � The problem of unemployment has assumed alarming proportion in Assam and according to the registers of the Employment Exchanges, the state now has more than 20 lakh unemployment persons, said the Minister in charge of Labour and Employment, Prithibi Majhi.
Replying to a Zero Hour notice by Dr Aditya Langthasa (AUDF) in the State Assembly today, the Minister, however, said that it is impossible to ascertain the exact number of unemployed persons as all of them do not register their names in the employment exchanges, while, those who register their names also do not inform the exchanges after getting jobs. But at the same time, he admitted that the number of unemployed persons is increasing every year, which is a matter of serious concern.
The Minister said that the literacy rate in the state is now around 65 percent. But there is need for changing the education system as 74 percent of the students opt for Arts stream, where the job opportunities are very limited. He said that 12 percent of the students opt for science stream and six percent for commerce stream. Though there are job opportunities in vocational and technical streams, only 0.4 percent of the students opt for the same.
Majhi admitted that it is impossible to solve the problem of unemployment by providing Government jobs and there is urgent need for changing the mindset of the people of the state. Some people view Government jobs as a status symbol, which is unfortunate, he added. He said that lack of industrialization is another key factor for the problem of unemployment and hoped that the situation would begin to improve soon. He also stressed the need for creating self employment avenues for the unemployed youths.
Giving an account of the steps taken by the Government for creating self employment opportunities, Majhi said that stress has been given on development of agriculture and allied sectors. The Government has started the process of setting up of skill development centres and the aim is to set up one such centre in each block of the state in phased manner. He said that the Government has already modernized 23 of the 28 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) of the state and the response of the students towards the ITIs was also very encouraging as last year, the cut off mark for admission was as high as 65 percent. The Government of India has also assured to set up new ITIs in the state and in the Labour Minister�s Conference held in Delhi in January, the demand for setting up an advanced training centre for the NE in Guwahati was raised, Majhi added.
Earlier, raising the issue, Dr Langthasa expressed serious concern at the sharp increase in the number of unemployed youths. He said that the state would benefit immensely if the unemployed persons can be engaged in productive works. He also stressed the need for changing the education system so that more job opportunities can be created.
