Given that the unemployment rate in the country is hovering around 80%, most of the graduands who were capped on Saturday actually graduated against all odds. The women and man ululating and chanting at the graduation ceremony were sending a clear message to the college authorities and Chancellor of all state-owned universities that despite the exorbitant tuition, lack of proper campus accommodation, absence of grants and loans and glaring unemployment prospects their sons and daughters have persevered and toiled to the finishing line. It was a loud reminder that the state is not doing enough, the state has failed to fund education and this is a threat to the nation and its future. When our leaders fail to have a clear vision about the country it means the whole nation will perish. We all know that Zimbabwe used to boast about its literacy rate which used to be above 90% but at the rate at which education is being commercialized and privatized the literacy rate will plummet to unexpected levels within a short period of time.
The pomp and fanfare that characterized the graduation ceremony on Saturday has already died as each and every graduand walks into the post-graduation era just the following morning after graduating. The parents and friends who were ululating and chanting on the graduation day will be conspicuous by their silence as it becomes clear to you that you have to make ends meet in one way or the other. Indeed attention will shift to those still attending school and at some point you will be expected to assist as well as paying back those who assisted you to finish your studies. This marks the beginning of yet another phase, that of looking for employment in a country where those already employed are being retrenched and some are even leaving the country for greener pastures. You will then realize that the system has cast you into wilderness right from the day you graduated and those who had graduated the previous year and are still searching for employment will simply say to you ‘welcome to the world of unemployment, uncertainty and underdevelopment’.
Our education system has perfected the art of hopelessly offloading graduands on to the job market year in and year out. The system is still churning out people who want to be employed when there is no employment. The system indeed is meant to feed into a consuming economy whose people have not gone far beyond the invention of a mouse-trap.
The SST continues to advocate for an education system that will be responsive to the emerging local and global challenges we are facing today. Such a responsive education system will better equip the nation as it projects itself into the future, a future that is largely uncertain. Lastly the SST congratulates all those who have graduated against all odds at the Midlands State University and urges them to think outside the box to solve the numerous challenges facing them from now into the future. It’s not going to be a stroll in the park.
Post published in: News