Does Higher Education Mean Better Jobs For Africans?

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A recent study found that African youth with higher educational qualifications do not necessarily see proper job benefits from their education. According to the 2013 Gallup survey, African workers with any secondary education do only slightly better than African workers with only primary education regarding “positive employment outcome”. Gallup describes that a positive employment outcome is full time working opportunity for an employer, being employed part time but nor requiring full-time employment or being self-employed not by lack for job opportunities, but by choice.

Need For Pursuing Higher Education 

 

The high net education benefit (21 pct. pts according to the Gallup survey) of the Republic of Angola comes from the oil resources of the country which has resulted in fast urban growth, higher investments in education sector and more job creation for people with primary education. However, the overall scenario put forward an inconsistent and dismal picture for employment reward provided for higher education in Africa. This scenario is further motivated by the shortage of incentive for Africans to pursue higher education.

All over sub-Saharan Africa, it has been observed that basic needs tend to compete with the abilities of parents to send their kids to school. Although primary education is considered as facilitating specific professional activities in urban and rural communities, it is possible that many parents fail to see the advantages for continued education. In case families do realise its importance, the enrolment in higher education becomes infeasible due to the labour sacrifice. Most African families who send their kids to the school mainly do it because these parents think that education will lead to better employment opportunities.

Disparity In Educational Accomplishment

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Moreover, the difference in educational accomplishment throughout sub-Saharan Africa also depicts the challenges faced by the region in attaining global education standards. Nations like Burkina Faso and Niger, with only 10 per cent and 6 per cent respectively, have small percentage of populations pursuing some type of secondary education. However, Zimbabwe and South Africa have 74 per cent and 73 per cent of their population pursuing secondary education. It should be noted that although the intensity of secondary education and higher education considerably between Niger and Zimbabwe, the positive employment outcome is almost the same.

Another research conducted by the African Economic Outlook on education and skills disparity in the territory support the findings of the Gallup survey. This study offers an enhanced perspective by recognising that African individuals with higher education face higher unemployment levels in middle-income nations than nations with low-income.

Challenges Of Underemployment And Unemployment 

 

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The findings from the studies reveal that the underemployment and unemployment levels in most of the surveyed countries are almost same irrespective of the educational attainment of Africans. Hence, families in Africa might have to make lot of sacrifices for allowing their kids to pursue higher education, but see their children unemployed. At best, they will get underemployed at a similar level as Africans with only primary education.

What do you think about education and employment in Africa? Are you suffering from underemployment or unemployment? Share your opinions and experiences with us by commenting below. We would surely love to hear what you have to say.

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