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Over 23,000 teaching assistants, 13,000 health assistants, 4,500 interns and 2,800 community protection assistants have been asked to vacate their posts under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP), to pave way for other applicants to also benefit. Abuga Pele, the former MP for Chiana Paga and CEO of the NYEP who disclosed this to the media on Wednesday, stated that the measure has become necessary in order to de-clog the programme. �It is not in the interest of the youth who join the programme to stay in it perpetually since it is not a formal job and does not provide a lifetime job such as social security, pensions, etc. The government therefore does not want to consign the youth to a situation where they have to live on stipends for life. I must emphasise that it is a stop-gap measure designed to prepare them for the job market and permanent job placements�. Noting that the programme had so far registered nearly one million youth, Mr. Pele indicated that the programme has given room for those who want to re-apply to do so for a second consideration, but only if the need and opportunity arose. According to him, the second opportunity was created because there was no immediate exit plan prepared for these youth by the previous administration. �What was not thoroughly done by the previous administration was an exit plan for these youth who have served the two-year tenure. So the questions agitating the minds of the public relate to the fate of those youth who exit again into the unemployed situation where they emerged from�. It is against this backdrop that the CEO mentioned the NYEP had developed and is implementing exit plans in collaboration with the relevant ministries and agencies as well as professionals in the field to enable the exit of the current beneficiaries and potential beneficiaries in a structured way and into a more meaning life. Currently, the NYEP owes exiting interns 2 months� salary, while in the case of community protection assistants they are owed 4 months� salary. The programme also needs GH�4.4 million monthly to offset these debts. Touching on the exit plan for health extension workers, he said his outfit and the Ministry of Health as well as its agencies have had thorough discussions on the health extension workers for which reason 30 percent of the beneficiaries will be absorbed into diploma and certificate courses to upgrade them. Out of this number, those who have the requisite qualifications will be admitted into a diploma course, while those who do not have the qualification but have exhibited competence will be admitted into certificate courses. Fifty percent of the beneficiaries will be absorbed directly into the Ghana Health Services as ward assistants, while 10 percent will be absorbed by private health institutions through memoranda of understanding. The last 10 percent will be given priority in the trades and vocation module of the NYEP. Additionally, some countries have also approached the programme to outsource the beneficiaries to them, and discussions are ongoing to explore its feasibility in Botswana among others. In the case of community education and teaching assistants, Mr. Pele said the Ministry of Education will absorb them in colleges of education, untrained teacher diploma in basic education (with sponsorship), pupil teacher recruitment, technical and vocational institutions for apprenticeship and recruitment by private institutions. Those who have not been absorbed by the Ministry of Education will be given priority under the trades and vocation module of the NYEP. A number of youth in the community protection assistants programme who have exhibited good character and have minimum qualification have been screened and selected for subsequent enlistment into the police service. The rest are to be absorbed into private security services across the country. �All youth under the intern module who have had the two year tenure have been exited as at the end of January 2010. Many have been absorbed by their respective organisations while the rest are encouraged to re-apply for consideration�, the NYEP boss revealed. Saluting those exiting the programme for their outstanding contributions to the country, he said a bill � the NYEP Bill, will soon be placed in Parliament to really give meaning to youth employment in Ghana.