Principal Secretary, State Department for University Education and Research, Ambassador Simon Nabukwesi has encouraged Form-four leavers joining university to pursue courses aligned to what they love doing.
Nabukwesi said students are more likely to be driven to succeed in life if they have a strong interest in the courses, they chose to pursue hence minimise chances of running out of motivation.
Speaking Friday at the University of Embu during an inspection tour of infrastructure projects, the PS cautioned students against choosing careers blindly as it might end up affecting their output in the job market.
“The tragedy in Africa is that many people are doing jobs they do not like and thus end up doing it as a routine and not for enjoyment or perfection,” Ambassador Nabukwesi said.
“When you do what you love, you will do it with your heart in it and that is why we are encouraging students to make career choices according to their natural gifts and the capacity to enjoy learning and eventually enjoy their jobs,”.
The PS said it was not just a matter of getting a degree, but more so finding one’s purpose in life to avoid getting lost or confused once the excitement of graduating fades away.
With the Kenya Universities and Colleges Placement Service (KUCCPS) expected to complete placement of students by the end of June, the PS asked Form-four leavers to take advantage of the review window provided to revise their career choices.
At the same time, the PS called on Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) beneficiaries to settle their outstanding loan balances to enable the fund keep up with the soaring numbers of needy cases.
He said the board was owed billions of shillings by defaulters, an amount he said was sufficient to ensure the fund acquires capacity to sustain it and support many more students joining universities.
“Funding of students in need of loans is as low as 57 percent of their need and not a 100 percent as it was at the start,” the PS noted, adding that the imbalance was occasioned by reduced exchequer allocation that was not commensurate with the rising number of needy cases.
Meanwhile, Nabukwesi challenged universities to be innovative by developing new revenue streams as well as employing cost-cutting measures to remain financially afloat amid budget cuts from the exchequer.
He hailed Embu University for prudent use of funds that has enabled it to put up a 660-seat capacity lecture theatre to complement what the government is doing as well as install solar panels in the administration block that has enabled it to save Sh125, 000 per month in power bills.
