ELSA'S INSTITUTE

Starved and yet Stuffed

by Samita Esther

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As the title suggests, we sure have a good number of ‘lacks’ to complain about. And truth be told such complaints might be quite in order…I mean, with the economy sliding as fast as a sledge across a steep mountain, with the high cost of living and no increment of salaries to compensate for that, with the high levels of unemployment…surely, no one should be damned for feeling starved. But the interesting thing is that; the solution to all this lies within us!

We are starved, and yet surprisingly, we are equally stuffed; we have the means to get ourselves out of this!

So, they say that education is the key to life…and it sure is, well, it is supposed to be. Problem is; we’ve taken that concept to a whole new level! Take a look at the academic programmes being offered in our educational institutions, and you will understand exactly what I am driving at! Our educational system teaches our people about how to be good employees, how to make awesome C.V.s, how to get your dream job…but the reality is; unemployment is on the rise in our country!

And so how do people react to this reality? They spend huge amounts of money and time to get an educational profile that is a little bit more advanced than that of the colleague at work. That, they believe, will earn them professional advancement at the work place.

Our country is stuffed with so many brilliant minds…minds that have great ideas, but all these minds get stuck at the ‘seeking employment phase’ simply because our academic programmes are not doing much to inspire the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. Have you ever put this into consideration; the programmes that we use in our academic institutions were brought to us by the white settlers during the colonial days? The concepts that we religiously cling on to are from western countries where the issue of unemployment does not really suffice as it does here in Kenya?

Why do we expect change and new results when we still continue to use old strategies? Is it possible that the problem with us is that we are yet to adapt with the times? Is it possible that the reason why we are still starved is because we are yet to be in tune with the social reality?

You ask what the social reality is. Well, the reality is that the number of jobs created annually is astoundingly low! But the good news is that, if, instead of inspiring the spirit of competition in our work places, we encouraged innovation and entrepreneurship, we would be able to create more jobs for our people.

And don’t get me wrong, education and employment are not evils in themselves…however; getting a degree was never meant to be an end in itself! The idea was to ensure that education becomes helpful towards the advancement of the economy, the individual, and the society as a whole. And so, education is surely the key to life!

Instead of pointing to the fact that unemployment is an issue in our country, why don’t you strive to be the solution? And the truth is that you have it in you, if only you willed!

That brilliant business idea that you have may seem too far-fetched, but be encouraged that good things come to those that will; where there is a will, there most certainly is a way!