A case in point is a Kenyan university graduate who has resorted to working as a security guard in his former high school after his efforts to secure a better job were unsuccessful.
In an interview with KTN, a dejected Ernest Maiki Abraham, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Statistics degree from the University of Eldoret, said he failed to secure a job in his profession despite making numerous applications to various corporates.
Desperate to put food on the table for himself and his siblings, Maiki decided to take any job that comes his way.
He got a job at his former secondary school, where he mans the institution’s main gate, earning a meager monthly income.
Maiki left RCEA Kuinet Secondary School in 2011 after scoring B+ in his Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations.
“I never at any point in my life did I picture myself in this position, I have desperately done all I can in vain, which is when I let life take its course,” he told KTN.
He said he has never received a response to any of his multiple applications letters to technology companies, multinational corporates and even supermarkets.
“Inafika mahali unakata tamaa, kwanza nikiwa University of Eldoret vitu mingi ilifika mpaka inanikazia wakati wa graduation. Inafika mpaka unakata tamaa kwa sababu maisha imekuwa ngumu,” he added.
One of his former high school teachers said they are ashamed since Maiki was one of the most hardworking and bright students the school has produced.
“As a teacher, I feel like my efforts were wasted,” he noted.
The reality is that a critical proportion of Kenyan youth have enrolled in universities and colleges, yet cannot fit in the formal job market due to skills mismatch and irrelevance of their courses.
