The number of unemployed graduates may increase if universities in the East African Community (EAC) do not revise their curricula to produce graduates that are needed on the labour market, an academic has warned.

The remarks of Prof. Mayunga Nkunya, the executive secretary of Inter-University Council for East Africa, are based on a recent study on the regional higher education qualification gaps that showed the urgent need to bridge the gaps between the graduates produced by universities and those who get employed after graduation.

The Inter-University Council findings are expected to be tabled at the "Academia-Public-Private Partnership Forum and Exhibitions 2014” event scheduled for October 23 to 24 in Kigali.

According to Prof. Nkunya, the problem is not how graduates apply the knowledge in the market, but lack of innovation, self- confidence and ability to be analytical.

"We discovered that about 50 per cent of the graduates are not fit for the job market, which increases the number of unemployed graduates and that is why we are bringing together academia and the private sector to strategise ways of how we can produce quality graduates,” he said.

The Kigali forum will mainly focus on generating inputs for enriching regional research and innovation capacity building programme currently under development by the Inter-University Council.

It will also look into practical strategies for implementing the programme on supporting the development of academia-public-private partnership platforms in the EAC sectors strategic to socio-economic development and developing human resource skilling and re-skilling activities.

"The study was prompted by last year’s debate on issues surrounding unemployed graduates. We wanted to have an empirical evidence of what is happening on the ground,” Prof. Nkunya said.

He added that part of their finding is that the graduates have much knowledge but the problem is not being able to transform it into practice.

"We are faced with the problem of varsities wanting to send out many graduates but without a follow-up on if what they studied was useful,” he added.

Varying views

The report shows that stakeholders have varied views on whether graduates are ready to succeed in entry-level positions. While 80 per cent of higher education providers said the graduates were ready, only 27 per cent of employers agreed with the opinion.

"These differing perspectives hold across countries, with Tanzania and Uganda demonstrating the widest gaps between the opinions of providers and employers, 37 per cent and 45 per cent respectively,” reads the report.

In Rwanda, the report says 80 per cent of higher education providers believe graduates are fit for the job market, but 48 per cent of employers agree with the assertion.

"The increased skill levels for future jobs directly correlates to increased educational requirements for those jobs. The anticipated growth rates for occupations for the region, therefore are skewed toward jobs that are either highly skilled (requiring a bachelor’s degree or above) or middle skilled (requiring more than a high school certificate) but less than a three-year degree,” reads the report.

It points out that by 2020 throughout the region, nearly two times as many jobs requiring post-secondary education will exist as compared to jobs for those with a high school education or less.

"Similarly, by 2025, about 81 per cent of the fastest growing occupations that have above-average wages will be jobs that require a post-secondary education of a diploma or higher,” it says.

The survey also reveals that education providers in Rwanda and Kenya are much more likely than employers to rate youth as competent.

Meanwhile, the survey indicates that 58 per cent of students believe practical, hands-on learning is an effective approach to training.

However, only 24 per cent of varsity graduates and 37 per cent of vocational graduates said they spent most of their time in this manner.

The report points out that the population trends reveal increased movement away from farms and rural areas to urban, so that 75 per cent of the population will be urban residents by 2025.

The report proposes that the structure of education in the region should be harmonised, and should be accompanied by a harmonised curriculum at all levels of higher education so as to allow for smooth student mobility.

"This will provide a smooth net effect on free movement of labour in the region and will minimise biases and egocentric tendencies that may arise from differences in education structures,” recommends the report.

edwin.musoni@newtimes.co.rw