United News of Bangladesh

State Minister for Youth and Sports Md. Aminul Haque on Tuesday told Parliament that the government has undertaken a range of awareness and skills development initiatives to protect young people from mobile phone addiction, drug abuse and other social challenges. Replying to a question from ruling party MP Sk. Md. Rejaul Islam elected from Naogaon-6, the state minister said the Department of Youth Development regularly organises public awareness workshops in every district to educate young people about the harmful effects of excessive mobile phone use, drug addiction and other social issues. He said awareness campaigns are also conducted through youth organisations registered with the department to promote responsible behaviour among young men and women. To keep youths engaged in productive activities and away from addiction, the Department of Youth Development provides one-to six-month vocational training courses through its district offices across the country. The courses include garment manufacturing, block and batik, fish farming, modern office management and computer applications, electrical and house wiring, electronics, refrigeration and air conditioning, and mobile phone servicing. Besides, residential youth training centres offer courses on livestock rearing, poultry farming, fish cultivation, primary veterinary care and agriculture. Freelancing training programmes are also being implemented in all districts, he said. The state minister said unemployed youths and young women at the upazila level are receiving regular training in various non-formal trades through local youth development offices based on local market demand to enhance their employability and self-employment opportunities. He further said the government has planned several new programmes to be developed within 180 days to create employment opportunities while discouraging mobile addiction and drug abuse among young people. The planned initiatives include freelancing training for unemployed youths in all metropolitan cities, mobile phone servicing and language training programmes to facilitate employment at home and abroad, and caregiver and foreign language training to support overseas job placement. He also said the National Youth Development Institute is currently offering training courses in ICT, freelancing, agriculture, tourism, ready-made garments, food and beverage services, and foreign languages for unemployed youths aged between 18 and 35 from all districts. The institute is also planning to introduce Japanese and Korean language courses as well as postgraduate diploma programmes in ICT and Fashion Designing.