This article was first published in the New Vision on February 24, 2021
By Vision Reporter
Education without morals is like a ship without a compass, merely wandering to nowhere; Martin Luther King Jnr once remarked.
Martin Luther King Jnr was an African-American Baptist minister and activist, who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the US.
His message still resonates back in Uganda, a message to the youth graduating from universities every year.
During the 13th graduation ceremony for ISABT University, Ajay Kumar, the high commissioner of India to Uganda, speaking as the chief guest, warned graduates:
“The changing scenario in the modern world demands not only skills and knowledge, but also morality, ethics and value from the youth.”
He urged graduates to always live to the expectations of the people who have trained them and to be leaders of high integrity and moral standing if they are to remain employable in any job market.
Kumar added: “The youth of the nation are its future. The nation can be proud only when its youth are groomed as responsible and confident citizens.”
He also noted, “The self-discipline inculcated into the students from the beginning to the end is a great factor for shaping their future.” He urged academic institutions, to groom students who can confidently meet the demands of work and effectively get employed.
The event was attended by the state minister for higher education, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo, as the guest of honor. Others in attendance were the university chancellor, Fred Omach, the ISBAT chairperson board of trustees, Varghese Mundamattam and the vice-chancellor, Prof. Dr K. M. Mathew.
The chancellor, in his message, also asked students to be leaders without titles.
“One does not need to aspire for political office to be a leader. You are all leaders in your own right; within a family, classroom, as well as at the corporate and community levels.”
“This is the sort of leadership that I call upon you to exhibit; true leadership that fosters new leaders and does not merely create followers. I, therefore, beseech thee; administrators, lecturers, students and leaders of every creed. Let our actions create a timeless legacy that inspires others to dream more, do more and become more,” he added.
Dr Muyingo also applauded the university for starting a hybrid learning platform, to help students complete their studies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
More trouble
A recent study titled, “Lost opportunity? Gaps in youth policy and programming in Uganda”, puts youth unemployment at 62%, although the African Development Bank says it could be as high as 83%.
The Uganda population report shows that Uganda has the world’s largest percentage of young people under 30, currently at 80%. Worldwide, there are about 1.2 billion youth aged 15 to 24 years. About 200 million are in Africa.
In the past decade, other media reports showed that Uganda had experienced strong GDP growth, averaging 7% annually, but this had not generated jobs, a trend seen across the continent.
Lack of employment is causing some young people to take risks.
But, Muyingo notes that unemployment could easily be reduced, “If graduates were employable.”
He also notes that in most some cases, some graduates end up unemployable just because of their bad character.
The African Center for Economic Transformation says, “According to data from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in sub-Saharan Africa, the youth unemployment rate is around 12%. While this is slightly lower than the global rate of 12.4%, the African region has the world’s highest rate of working poverty — people who are employed but earn less than $2 a day.”
Despite being Africa’s most educated generation to emerge from schools and universities, youth in Africa are likely to be unemployed when they become adults, ILO said.
Africa has the largest “youth bulge” in the world and the number was expected to grow by 42.5 million between 2010 and 2020, according to the World Bank.
Study on graduates’ unemployment
Today, several studies done in Uganda show that graduates are not equipped with the required competence in terms of skills, abilities and experience or even moral fibre to enable them to enter and establish themselves in the turbulent world of work.
More so, young adults are not equipped with the ability to adjust to constant change and the need to obtain more than just degree-specific skills and information. If youth unemployment rates continue to rise, it is believed that, among others, chronic unemployment, poverty, frustration and impatience among the youth may increase and that young persons’ transition from youth to adulthood may be delayed.
During an interview with the state minister for higher education, Dr John Chrysostom Muyingo after the graduation, he said the youth should be disciplined to be able to keep their jobs.
“You will not be able to keep your job if you are not disciplined. It is important that one is ethical and of high moral standards. For students who have gone through my hands, this should be very clear today. However smart intellectually you may be, we expect you to be of high moral standing,” he added.
“Students should be able to uphold the ethical values passed on to them during training if they are to succeed in any place of work,” he added.
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