Unemployed teachers in Embu, among them university graduates, have turned to alcoholism and drugs due to frustration arising from unemployment.
Kenya National Union of Teachers Embu branch executive secretary Josphat Kathumi yesterday said many have opted for casual jobs such as matatu touting and boda boda riding.Others were farmhands.
“Many of them are frustrated and have taken to consumption of illicit drugs to ease their sorrows,” Kathumi said.
He said the group has lost hope and needed quick government intervention to stop the situation from getting out of hand. “Those we’ve talks to are asking themselves whether they were born to study so hard in universities only to end up jobless.”
The official dismissed Education CS Amina Mohamed’s plan to use the police to arrest Helb defaulters. “Most graduates remain unemployed. They have nothing to repay the loans with,” he said.
The Higher Education Loans Board, Kathumi said, was established to help students from poor families to study at the universities so they can be at par with those from rich backgrounds.
He asked the government to create jobs for the graduates before demanding repayment of their loans. He accused the Education ministry of coming up with unpopular policies and called for change of advisers.
The Knut official cited the failed free laptops project. The project, according to him, could not work when schools do not have computer labs.
“Even Amina’s promise to employ more teachers to ensure 100 per cent transition ought to have been done last year. Then we wouldn’t be having these problems,” Kathumi said referring to the CS’s pleas for funds to improve infrastructure and hire more tutors to achieve the transition target.