A Government’s duty is to develop a country where youth can live with self-respect. Most educated youth leave for lucrative jobs abroad because they are denied such a country to live in.
Speaker Karu Jayasuriya expressed these sentiments participating in the 41stNational Youth Awards Ceremony organised by the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) held at Nelum Pokuna as chief guest on November 5.
“A country with equal opportunities should be created to prevent brain drain,” Speaker Jayasuriya said. “Youth will make a great leap forward if they are entrusted responsibilities in the country, as evidenced by the recent achievements of Sri Lankan youth which gained world attention.”
The Speaker said many youths had achieved excellence by making use of the opportunities afforded to youth since 1977 by identifying their abilities.
The Speaker said “the most important period of one’s life is his or her youth. Your activities will decide the direction towards which you and your country will progress. A youth awards ceremony of this nature gives them encouragement and impetus to move in the right direction.”
He said as much as the youth had their rights they should remember that they had a duty and responsibility for the nation. Social inequalities had to be eliminated to the maximum for youth to feel honoured being a citizen of this country. Communal, religious or economic inequalities could drive youth towards terrorism.
The Speaker said education was a prime factor which would eliminate such inequalities. In this respect, the steps taken by the Government to guarantee 13 years of continuous school education to each and every child should be highly acclaimed. The boy and girl who recently invented the Ravana satellite had proved that our youth could ably compete with the outside world. There were multitudes of youth with such hidden talents in this country.
“The NYSC had rendered a great service towards bringing such talented youth to the fore since its inception. The present Prime Minister who is the founder of the National Youth Services Council deserves special plaudits on this score,” the Speaker said.
He said a proper moulding was necessary for any person to perform his or her duty and responsibility to the motherland and society. He said after completing his studies, he first joined the Sri Lanka Army. This helped to inculcate discipline in him to a great extent.
The Speaker who advised the youth present to assiduously pursue success called upon them to rally round and perform their duties and responsibilities to the motherland.
Secretary State Ministry of Economic Policy and Youth Affairs M. J. Ameer, Additional Secretary Saman Waduge, NYSC Chairman Kanishka Rajapaksa and Chairman Youth Brigade K. A. S. Keeragala were also present.
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