In Uganda today the greatest gift a parent can give a child is Education.
Many children in Uganda today are going to school; some are going to government schools and others to private schools. Some of the government schools under the Universal primary and secondary education programs offer free education as opposed to the private schools where school fees vary.
We all go to school with the same expectations; study hard, excel and get a good paying job for a better future. Sometimes the ever increasing levels of unemployment don’t cross our minds whilst we are in school probably because we choose to keep a blind eye to that inconvenient truth and convince our selves that there is a job for us somewhere.
This courage gives students hope and for the biggest part I think this is what keeps children is school. Otherwise they would end up dropping out along the way and head for the streets and then the studied can join them later after they graduate and fail to get jobs.
On many occasions I wonder whether education is the answer/key to Africa’s problems putting in mind the high levels of unemployment not mentioning poverty.
I am not blaming those who drop out because of their own reasons. Some drop out because they think staying in school is a waste of time. Others have no choice mainly because their parents or care takers cannot afford their school requirements.
Parents and guardians pay a lot of money in form of school fees and tuition for their children to go to school. Education is quite expensive in Uganda (and other parts of the world) mainly in the higher institutions of learning.
On the 59th Graduation ceremony at Makerere University running this week; 12,346 students will be graduating. The question remains, they have graduated; what next?
The Ministry of Education in Uganda is currently improving the education system such that it can produce more job makers than job seekers. But how will these graduates create jobs considering the high of poverty in Uganda. The system is now putting more emphasis on teaching science subjects; Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology are compulsory for all candidates at the Uganda Certificate of Education level (ordinary level). Some people think this will help. But in my own opinion there is a lot to be done with the education system.
Just like other low developing countries we tend to stay in the transition period for only a short period of time. Children don’t get career guidance when they are still at lower levels of education to prepare them for the challenges as they grow up and to show them the opportunities available after school.
The employers on the other hand are not dynamic. The issue of ‘technical know who’ in the workplace(s) is another issue that needs to be addressed. This is evident in all institutions, both private and government institutions. Many employers will attach a requirement “at least 3 years of experience” on average when recruiting employees hence limiting the opportunities of fresh graduates from applying for such jobs.
Recently
SamaSource initiated a cause:
“Give work, not aid”. Samasource (
www.samasource.com ) screens and selects fledgling tech companies in poor regions and helps them scale through training and business development.
This kind of initiative gives some hope. Our governments and education system should emphasize creativity in the system of learning such that jobless graduates do not have to entirely depend on the employers but can initiate small research and development projects which the governments can fund such that their skill can be utilized on a National and perhaps on a global scale.
This is what I have called a “Hall of fame and Shame!”
Our governments, stakeholders, parents and we the students have put most of our emphasis and limited resources in education but the future is still unclear because it has not helped to address our problems.
What should we do?
And if there is nothing we can do;
What’s next?
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