KARACHI, Feb 27: Young educated population of the country aspiring to apply for the internship programme of the government is said to be facing difficulty in applying online as the address provided in the public advertisement was found to be dysfunctional many a times. The last date for submission of application for the current year is March 1, 2007.

The overload and rush is said to be causing these disruptions in access to the site. The toll-free helpline number has also not been responding, complained people who called newspaper offices to seek guidance in this regard.

“The government should extend the deadline by at least fifteen days and direct the people responsible for the management of the scheme to facilitate us by providing details of the scheme available on-line,” Shama Ehsan, a lady from North Karachi, a middle class locality, told Dawn on Tuesday.

There are many others like Shama, who wish to apply but need some guidance that does not seem to be available at the local level. “Working for a petty sum of Rs4,000 in a coaching centre, after doing Masters, is frustrating. The internship scheme gave some hope.

“In fact it sounded too good to be true. I wanted to apply but the site was not opening up for me to access the application,” said another caller from Shah Faisal Colony.

The government announced a highly attractive scheme of internship for jobless or underemployed qualified youth in the first week of February. Under the National Internship Programme (NIP) all men and women under 25 years of age, holding Masters degree from HEC recognized universities, can join the government as internees at a monthly stipend of Rs10,000 for one year.

The plan, as explained by the prime minister, was to induct these jobless Masters’ degree holders in different government departments for skill development and training. The scheme was envisaged to serve the twin purpose of gainful engagement of youth as soon as they complete education and bridging of skill gap necessary to meet the growing demands of an expanding economy.

The decision in this regard was taken early this month in a meeting of Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet. The scheme was to be launched formally by President Musharraf.

The advertisement was, however, placed immediately after the decision was taken. The spokesperson of the government on economic affairs was not available and higher ups contacted in Islamabad over telephone were not inclined to divulge much. They were approached to seek details about the response to the scheme and regarding its management at provincial and city level.