Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei on Tuesday, June 27, admitted that there were no guaranteed jobs for Kenyans who study abroad through government sponsorship programmes.
In a statement, the PS explained that the programmes were meant to expose the students by giving them a better education that they then use to generate their own income.
He added that the education they got was equally important because it accorded them better opportunities upon their return.
Additionally, he admitted that the Kenyan economy did not have the capacity to create enough jobs for all graduates.
“There is a measure of realism on the part of most that our economy is not creating enough jobs for all.
“Equally, most appreciate the power of a good education to open doors within and beyond the country. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) must be understood as the search for larger opportunities in and beyond Kenya,” the PS stated.
Sing'oei was responding to concerns raised by Nanjira Sambuli, a policy analyst and strategist, over an announcement of the enrollment of Kenyan students at Serbian Universities under the World in Serbia Program.
In a statement on July 25, the PS noted that he had requested the program to double the number of Kenyan beneficiaries from the current intake of 10 to 20.
Sambuli questioned the importance of the programme noting that many of those students came back to the country and were forced to start their own businesses because of a lack of jobs.
She argued that entrepreneurship was flooded in the country and many who turned to the sector did not do very well.
“No jobs for them back home in the public sector according to the Deputy President. There are millions of young people across the continent who have been cast into the wilderness of entrepreneurship as an employment path,” she stated.
Speaking during the 40th Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) graduation ceremony on June 23, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua asked university graduates to venture into entrepreneurship noting that the government could not guarantee jobs for everyone.
"I have told you that I’m an honest man. I don’t want to sit here and lie to you that we have jobs for you. We are going to create them with you," he stated.
At the same time, President William Ruto continued to advocate for different government programmes that enabled youths in Kenya to secure jobs abroad. On June 18, he announced that the government had entered into bilateral agreements with select foreign countries to secure one million jobs for Kenyans.
Among the countries that Kenyans will travel to for work include; Germany, Barbados, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
