Informal training could save thousands of school dropouts
A young man moulds a metallic pan at Jua Kali workshop in Kibuye Market, Kisumu.
The plight of youthful school dropouts is dire. It is sad to see some of my agemates idling at home. Without any meaningful engagements, they easily get caught in vices that ruin their lives.
The causes of children dropping out of school are varied. For most from poor families, lack of fees is what forces them to discontinue their education. However, there are those who are just naughty, those who went to school but instead of focusing on their academic work, they spent their time in school making merry. Some are pressured by their peers shun the “hard” life of studies and seeking out the “soft life” .
Some, when they see a family member make it in life without academic papers, mistakenly believe life is a walk in the park and quit school.
Regrettably many parents of this generation lack the iron will to insist that their children stay in school.
Others skip school on the notion that some children's minds are not for books. I witnessed how this led to my childhood friend dropping out of school. She said she struggled with learning in primary school and her aunt would taunt her that her brain wasn't meant for books.
She attended tuition hoping to improve her scores. She said her parents were running out of patience, so when she was told to repeat Class Seven they withdrew her from the private school. She completed her primary schooling in a public school but never proceeded to high school.
Her friend said her parents insisted that she better direct her efforts to doing menial jobs rather than studying. She wallows in poverty as her friends achieve great feats thanks to education.
What does the future hold for them? Which institution will absorb them without papers?
Perhaps rather than stay idle, there are short-term courses they could learn like mobile repair, CCTV installation, hair and beauty, digital marketing and electrical works.
All these are linked to informal apprenticeship, which the government should harness as a viable solution for these youth.
Thomas Nyauncho, 20, is a journalism student.
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