Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi has attracted backlash and criticism from a section of netizens who were offended by his job advert.
On Tuesday, November 17, the political scientist and owner of 5th Estate TV, asked job seekers to apply for positions at his tertiary institution, Fort Hall School of Government.
Ngunyi listed several qualifications which many of his respondents felt were way off-limit for the majority of jobless graduates in Kenya.
"We (Fort Hall) are recruiting Junior Research Fellows. Masters Degree from a European or American University is preferred. Written and spoken French is an added advantage. No training required as I myself will train you. The salary range is between $ 1000 - $1500 (Ksh 109,000 and Ksh 163,000 [sic]," Ngunyi posted.
Netizens were quick to question whether the job was meant for millions of job seekers who have graduated from Kenyan universities.
One Tim Wuod lamented that most Kenyan graduates are allegedly responsible for handling assignments and projects for European and American students through different online platforms, yet foreigners end up being handpicked for jobs in Kenya.
More wondered why Kenyans who have studied for the same courses in local universities cannot be granted such opportunities. Robert Murangiri lamented that the advert was discriminatory against bright Kenyans who have acquired degrees in local universities.
"1000 Dollars is rather small or peanuts to be precise for a guy with a master's degree in development economics from Leicester University UK. I must have underestimated education qualifications, but such pay with that competency requirement is not an equal value for the skills," others weighed in on the wages.
Some defended Ngunyi, with Robert Ogugu stating that he studied in Kenya and recently joined a European University for his PhD. He argued that Kenyan universities only offer academic documents while foreign ones offer knowledge and expertise.
The professor himself, later on, hit back at those who condemned the job advert.
"Some netizens are annoyed that I asked for job applicants with degrees from the UK, Canada and America. You have no idea how painful it is to employ and re-train a graduate from the University of Nairobi! Moi University is even superior - especially their Law Programme!" Ngunyi stated.
The state of unemployment worsened in Kenya during the Covid-19 crisis, with data presented by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) in June 2020 revealing that over 700,000 youth were rendered jobless.
Kenya's unemployment rate doubled to 10.4% in just three months, March to June 2020 and at least 1.72 million workers lost their jobs due to lockdowns and curfews.
A number of them resorted to looking for jobs using placards on streets or posts on social media. Several university Vice-Chancellors have been urging graduates to focus on creating employment opportunities rather than looking for jobs.
Private employers have witnessed thousands turning up for few vacancies after the country was reopened. The crisis cuts along both private and public sectors as government too cut down on offering employment and internship programs too.
