The level of joblessness and desperation among graduates in Kenya and Uganda is alarming. There is a lot of hopelessness among job seekers to the extent of seeking opportunities in countries like Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, which are not friendly to Africans.
In 1970, Uganda and Kenya were performing very well, in fact better than Asian tigers like Singapore and Dubai but where the rain started beating us is a mystery.
There are several reasons why unemployment level is alarmingly high in Uganda and Kenya, and here are the fundamental reasons.
Graduates are taught how to look for employment, not how to be employers.
The greatest challenge we have in Kenya and Uganda is that students are not trained on how to be innovative. In colleges, these people’s minds are set into employment because what they know is reading and passing exams. This is contrary to the teaching style in U.S.A, UK and other developed nations where students are taught how to be entrepreneurs.
Leaders are only concerned about enriching themselves and family members.
It is hard to find a poor leader leaving office poor. Once a leader is elected, he starts looting and amassing wealth. The law of balance states that when one is looting another own must suffer. That is exactly what is happening in Kenya and Uganda.
When a leader puts personal interests first, the country will suffer economically.
Too many graduates, who are half-baked
There are so many graduates on the streets, and all of them are struggling to join employment. This is tragic. To make it worse, they are half-baked
Universities are simply churning out graduates. They don’t care about the quality of education they provide as long as they get money. The end result-rejection from employers.