Yesterday, a Malawian citizen identified as Bridget Thapwile Soko shared a video of herself burning her academic documents showing her frustrations with being unable to find a job.
Soko received her degree in Business Administration at Exploits University in the capital city of Malawi, Lilongwe.
In the video, she said she decided to burn the document because she saw no value in them.
What is the reason behind the increasing unemployment levels worldwide? James Onen, The Fatboy Show host, asked whether it is the education system or the economy to blame.
Speaking about the frustration of many unemployed youths across Africa, James Onen, aka Fatboy, wondered whether it is the education system that denies young people a chance at employment or the economy.
“I wonder if the problem is with the education system or because the economy cannot accommodate graduates. Because a company may want to hire someone with expertise, but it won’t because it can’t afford them,” said Fatboy.
Olive Najjuma, the co-host of the show, said that partly both are to blame, arguing that some institutions have courses that are not marketable in the employment world. She referred to how Makerere University halted about 20 courses, wondering whether the students who had studied those courses had benefited from them.
She also pointed to how universities create and duplicate courses to make more money from students who in turn end up jobless.
Understanding why many youths have become frustrated and are burning their academic papers, Fatboy said it weighs on the government to create a sustainable environment for the growth of entrepreneurship.
For instance, he thought that the poor government policies that offer no tax waivers to local entrepreneurs make it hard for private entities to have funds to employ more people.
“Those are the incentives the government can give people to make everyone happy. Instead, they increase taxes that make it harder for companies to increase salaries or even hire more graduates,” he said.
According to a report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), unemployment is expected to remain above pre-covid -19 levels until at least 2023. The 2022 level is estimated at 207 million, almost 21 million more than in 2019.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, and Sarah every weekday from 6 am to 10 am on RX Radio.