Here are three scenarios to prove that engineering in Kenya is overrated, it’s useless. Kenyan Engineers are contributing almost nothing, most of the work is done by technicians:
- A mechanical engineer’s car breaks down. Naturally, you would expect the mechanical engineer to fix the car or if he takes the car to a garage, he should instruct the mechanic on what to do. But ironically, the mechanic, a primary school dropout fixes the car by himself and even advises the engineer on what he (the engineer) needs to do to avoid such fault in future.
- A public address system in an engineering seminar fails. Despite the fact that those in attendance include electrical and even telecommunications engineers, nobody volunteers to fix it. Instead, a wiring technician has to be called has to be called to fix it.
- A county government or NCA civil and structural engineer visits a construction site. You would expect this engineer to check if he the works on the site complies with the structural drawings they approved. You would also expect him to concentrate on technical issues like if the foundation depth is okay. But to your surprise he will ask to ensure if all the rates were paid for, if you have an approved plan, if the contractor is a registered one, if the project is registered etc. Why should an engineer neglect technical issues to perform clerical and administrative duties? Does one really need an engineering diploma or degree to perform clerical duties like checking if a project is validly registered?