Download WE MUST INTEGRATE YOUTH ASPIRATIONS IN NATIONAL

WE MUST INTEGRATE YOUTH ASPIRATIONS IN NATIONAL POLICY
By Hon. Musalia Mudavadi, EGH
The philosophy underlying existence of nations is ability to regenerate by nurturing its
youth for battles of generational succession. We reproduce ourselves through youth. We
do not run government for ourselves but in trust for the young generation. We owe it to
them that we must deliver on that trust.
A nation with a majority youthful population prides itself with the confidence of
survival if investments in education and health primarily anchor their reproductive
capacity while those in the economy seek their sustainability. Hence, a serious nation
sets succession precedence through meaningful education. It is this input that
determines the capacities youth need to acquire their level of preparedness and
integration into domains of leadership at all levels.
It means that in addressing the plight of youth, what youth ‘ought’ to be determines our
investment and their ‘expectations’ define our inputs in the productive sectors of the
economy. An economy that factors expectations of youth as potential workers only will
not inspire youth absorption into leadership. For instance, youth cannot aspire for
political leadership if absorption levels in the economy don’t inspire them to explore,
create and enjoy even as they create wealth. However, we are doing badly in Kenya.
Of the estimated 45 million Kenyan in 2014, 60% are youth of which 42% are minors
under 14 years. In 2015, 200,000 KCPE candidates under 14 years didn’t qualify to
secondary school. Interpolated annually KCPE has condemned 10 million minors who
can hardly train for a trade out of the education system in the last 50 years. Today two
million children under 14 years form 26% of the labour force in Kenya. They are mostly
those who exit primary school and fall into informal employment which constitutes a
damning official policy sanctioning child labourin contravention of our constitution and
international covenants.
The youth bulge and hopelessness need urgent interventions given more damning
figures. Of the 60% total youth population, dependency ration is at a high of 76%. The
reason is those at age 15-24 or 19% of our population is unemployed. HIV/Aids
prevalence is at 4.5% while addiction to drugs is 15%.The dwindling fortunes for youth
are also reflected in government spending. In 2005, 32% of total government
expenditure went into education reducing to 24% in 2010 and down to 6.7% in 2014.
Worse still, the budget 2013/14 for “Youth Development and Empowerment Services” under
the Ministry of Devolution and Planning, of Ksh26.4 billion ended in siphoning scandals. There
can be no greater betrayal of Kenyan youth by their government than this.
The above impacts are the contributions of an education system gone awryout of sheer
neglect. Hence my party ANC proposes we abolish KCPE. The argument is that instead
of criminalizing children for failing KCPE, they should mature through to KCSE upon
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which those who miss university places can train for skills. Therefore experts currently
re-examining our education system shouldn’t confuse acurriculum that is wanting with
the whole architecture of the education system that requires restructuring.
Fortunately the promise of‘youth are leaders of tomorrow’ we inherited from
independence has run out of fashion; and with it the culture of nurturing youth to sit
back and wait for jobs must also end. This will happen if in being educated, youth learn
how to fend for themselves. We must hence then discourage the culture of handouts
and substitute it with an entrepreneurial culture for purposes of independence,
creativity and innovation by youth. We will do this if we build youth capacities, harness
resources and inject it into viable economic projects.But we shouldn’t cheat youth by
creating political funds that are siphoned to enrich our cronies.
To this end, two factors in youth empowerment must be emphasized. First, the
education system must be designed to nurture not only skills and feed students on
content as to pass examinations, but rather, it ought to infuse a sense of ambition,
responsibility, etiquette, and a culture of integrity. To this end we should produce
graduates attuned to societal calling of self-fulfillment. This isn’t a herculean task; this
ethic has been achieved in India and East Asia and drives the demand for Asian youth
in the Silicon valleys of America. Indeed, the FDI in Asia that creates job opportunities
are driven by this skilled and ethical manpower.
Secondly, our education system should take cognizance of the economic dynamism of
society and the dictates of generational infusion. By this I mean we must develop
workplace culturethat incorporates and trains youth on job. The demand for experience
in order to access employment without the willingness to mentor that experience is an
anomaly. The youth should occupy positions of leadership alongside the near-exit
generation in order to seal the gap of inexperience. To actualize this, we must create
trust between generations; a trust premised on the future and posterity of our nation.
Why have I talked about trust? If the NYS scandal, Youth Enterprise Fund scum and
discrimination in public appointment are the benchmarks, trust levels between youth
and government are at an all-time low. They are evidence Kenyan youths are the most
marginalized, abused and misused and I’m guilty as any other who has served in
successive regimes since independence. Governments front youth agenda as a priority
but in practices the promises are cosmetic. It is time for a strong and vibrant youth
platform in national policy. A youth agenda must traverse all policy formulation
otherwise we will continue to suffocate the aspirations of generations. We cannot
continue playing corruption roulette with resources set aside to help improve the
welfare of the youth.
(Extract from THE WAY IT IS: SHAPING FUTURE LEADERS THROUGH
EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”; a presentation by Hon.
Musalia Mudavadi, ANC Party Leader during the YOUTH LEADERSHIP SUMMIT at
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MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY
(MMUST)April 28, 2016.)
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