Protests by Unemployed Graduates

In their quest for work, the unemployed graduates of the social sciences departments protested eight times during the last three months outside the building of the Ministry of Education ( the last

three took place on: 27 July 2009, 3 and 17 August 2009 respectively). The representative of the Social Science Society said that ‘it is shameful that the graduates are standing under the heat of the sun demanding their right to work, which is guaranteed by the Constitution and the Charter’.

The Minister of Labour admitted that unemployment among graduates has increased in recent years. On the other hand, the House of Representatives has proposed a bill to employ more social workers in schools and universities. But the Education Ministry had reservations for budget-connected reasons.

In order to solve the problem, the Government has established a committee, which developed a plan. The plan has been approved by the Economic Development Council. The plan is aiming to allocate 24 million Dinars (US$ 63 million) and is expected to be implemented in October 2009.