Align school with job creation to address our economic woes

Schools, colleges and universities are meant for educating people, developing minds and building character. The world over, employment is not based on mere certificate, diploma and degree qualifications, but on the skills employees are expected to contribute. The premise that education is necessary for development, growth and poverty reduction is undisputable. Nevertheless, economic development depends on the knowledge and skills that people acquire, not necessarily the number of years that they sit in a classroom. Education of young people is encouraged with the hope that the economy will become more productive as the proportion of educated workers increases since educated workers can better carry out tasks that require literacy and critical thinking. In equalisation of the equation of education and employment, the importance of going to school and getting “a well-paying job” is also emphasised.

EXAM CHEATING

Due to these imaginations and hopes that education can solve many challenges facing the society, Kenyans — like other people elsewhere in the world — powerfully embraced the transformation of the call to action from education “for all” to “learning for all” which is an element of massification of education. Learning-for-all syndrome has led employers to question the integrity of certificates, diplomas and university degrees because of the poor skills and character exhibited by some of the employees. We need to congratulate the Ministry of Education for the steps they are taking to curb cheating in national examinations because this could be the main source of attracting unqualified workforce. It has been reported that cheating is on the rise in national examinations for schools and colleges.

MODULE II

This does not exclude university education. It is common to find university students getting their research theses, projects, essays and assignments generated from cyber cafes. Although our country is considered to be a hi-tech hub, cyber café research and writing services are confirming a concealed form of cheating eventually undermining the integrity of certificate, diploma and degree qualifications. Universities find it difficult to make decisions on students who are engaged in the examination malpractices at cyber cafes simply because there are no proper legal procedures to curb this menace.

Yet if not checked, hi-tech cheating in educational institutions will make schooling a ritualised process of qualification-earning. Already, universities need to redeem their image because they offer education which has been transformed from elite to mass form of production. The massification of higher education, particularly through Module II, commonly known as parallel programme, provided more access to universities, and subsequently produced a growing number of college graduates looking for jobs in the labour market. The unfolding scenarios of education and development themselves are a worrying problem.

HOMEGROWN RESOURCES

For instance, one of the major job markets for the youth are the China projects in the country. But a series of worrying economic indicators are emerging to raise concern over how Kenya and many other African countries could cope with international aid strategies from China. Does the promise that these projects create jobs amid a population bulge hold? Instead of relying on heavy borrowing from China we should borrow a leaf from the model of the “Asian Tigers” who painstakingly built their own economies with homegrown resources.

Look at the apparel sector at Gikomba open-air market in Nairobi and many other open-air markets in towns and villages in Kenya. Does the apparel industry create jobs for school leavers? If the answer is no, I will ask, why not? If the answer is yes, I will ask, does academic qualification matter? Challenges associated with education qualification and joblessness among the youth are widespread.

CUT-THROAT COMPETITION

Young people with certificates, diplomas and degrees find themselves in a cut-throat competition for the few available elite jobs in the labour market. Yet, do all jobs need college education? Why don’t we align our education with employment creation instead of this mindless obsession with qualification and certification for its own sake?

Long ago children were instructed, “you have to go to school or else you suffer”. But today one would be forgiven for saying: “You go to school to suffer”. This is no music to the ears of parents and youth, but that is the sad state of affairs until we change it.

Admittedly, issues of education and employment are politically controversial, sensitive and cannot be exhaustively discussed here but the big question is; does the academic qualification matter in employment?

Kindiki is a professor of international education and policy. He is currently a visiting professor/researcher at Oldenburg University, Germany.