Most people go to school believing that they will get a job after schooling. In most developing country, the rate of unemployment keep increasing every year as graduate are produced every year to the labor market with a decline in rate of job opportunity. Using Nigeria as a case study, over 600,000 graduates are produced every year to the labour market with no job opportunity. This make the rate of unemployment increase every year.
In Africa, education is really failing to achieve its objective of developing the mind of people and empowering them to contribute positively to their society. If nothing is done to the educational sector in these developing nations, the sector would totally collapse. Most of these nations have brilliant students that would be outstanding if they are exposed to the right information using the correct channels and tools. Some of the reasons for this are
1. Government attitude towards the educational sector: The educational sector of most of these nations is highly underfunded. They lack the right infrastructures and teachers are highly underpaid.
2. Corruption: The children of politicians mainly school in some of the best schools abroad funded by stolen funds from government coffers. Most funds budgeted for education are diverted to private accounts owned by these corrupt politicians. Due to nepotism and tribalism, unqualified teachers are employed to teach in schools, thereby producing half-baked graduates. Some lecturers are also very corrupt, they collect bribes from students to give them unmerited grades.
3. Societal beliefs: Society places more emphasis on certificates rather than skills and expertise. This has made people that even have no business going to the university forcefully enroll. This has led to the production of educated illiterates. Most people in these universities would have been sound artisans and entrepreneurs.
Due to this, most youth believe education as failed them after graduated for years without a job. Alot of graduate are into transportation and other minor stuff that are irrelevant to thier course of study to sustain their living.
It is not education that has failed but the individual and government. Education is an avenue that opens the mind of a learner and gives him the ability to identify and create opportunities even when there are no available employment opportunities. The government in developing nations have also failed to provide employment opportunities. They prefer to sell raw materials to other countries instead of refining these materials and selling the finished products which would increase employment opportunities. Unfavorable government policies have also scared most investors from these developing nations.
Transportation and other casual jobs are profit-making ventures in my country. Most transporters earn a far higher income than most government workers. The vulcanizer close to my house earns more than me that is gainfully employed. These jobs can serve as a source of income for other bigger dreams of some university graduates. Hence, these jobs shouldn't be overlooked.