Doaba, the NRI heartland of the state, is considered to be the most prosperous region of the state. The cash rich pocket may soon hit a hurdle., The region is churning out graduates by thousands every year. Yet very few are able to land a decent government job. The prevailing degree of unemployment defies common notion.

The spectre of unemployment seems to loom large in the region. Nearly 17,000 graduates pass out of colleges every year. Officials attributed the level of unemployment in the otherwise prosperous Doaba region to the fact that no recruitment had been conducted since 2001 by the state government.

Government statistics reveal that 22,801 youngsters got registered with various employment exchanges falling in Hoshiarpur (843), Jalandhar (16,168), Kapurthala (3,192), and Nawanshahr (2,598) last year.

Similarly, approximatly 16,800 graduates pass out from colleges every year since 2001. Of these, 6,992 passed out from colleges of Jalandhar district, 4,778 from Hoshiarpur, 4,150 from Kapurthala and 912 from colleges of Nawanshahr district.

The whopping numbers suggest that there are about 80,000 unemployed youth in the region itself. Such a high degree of unemployment could lead to mass exploitation of youngsters in one or the other way.

In fact, none of the about 80,000 graduates, who passed out from different colleges and educational institutes in the four districts of Doaba — Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Nawanshar — during the past five years has been able to land even a Class III government job.

On the other hand, a small number of 513 youths out of the registered 22,801 youngsters were absorbed as class IV employees either in Central Government departments or in the private sector during 2005. None of the registered graduates, it was learnt, had got absorbed even as a clerk in any government department.

A graduate is eligible for ‘unemployment allowance’ of Rs 200 a month only after three years of his or registration with an employment exchange and that too, if he or her family income is below Rs 1,000 per month. The allowance in case of matriculates is Rs 150 per month.