Kenyan students join rat race to study abroad for guaranteed job prospects

By Steve UMIDHA

Kenya’s high school and college students alike continue to flock abroad for higher education out of dissatisfaction with the domestic education system.

Applications to study overseas continue to soar year on year according to Omar Mohamed – the managing director of Educare International – a study abroad expert, with Master’s programmes the primary choice for Kenyan learners.

Further, Mohamed says that in the era of 21st Century education, the possibility of studying abroad has branched out into an endless loop of foreign opportunities. He was speaking during a higher education fair organized by Educare International in partnership with various overseas universities from various countries.

Young Kenyans are fast adjusting to the concept better now as the country progresses into its educational revolution.

While foreign institutions continue to shift their outreach with programmes in campuses built within partnering countries, many parents are unbothered by the high cost of studying abroad owing to the exciting fantasy of an overseas education.

H.E Ms. Morakot Janemathukorn, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Thailand also admits that Kenyan students with study abroad ambitions are signing up to foreign universities in record numbers and she is now likening the shift to better quality of education in overseas countries which offer advance learning grounds to learners with guaranteed job offers upon completion.

The US, UK, Canada, Malaysia, Thailand, Dubai and Australia among others remain the top preferred destinations for Kenyan learners seeking overseas learning chances for their undergraduate studies or post-secondary programs.

Inflated tuition fees, exorbitant housing costs for college students, quality of faculty, curriculum standards, and technological infrastructure available, accreditation regime and the administrative policies in institutions of higher learning are some of the factors influencing the quality of higher education in most public universities.

While the truth of obtaining an education abroad is – in most cases – more expensive than obtaining one locally, students would be able to fare better should their expenses be managed through an in-depth research of international student life in their selected country.

For example, European cities that boast student culture are often given the option of a homestay accommodation – where students have the opportunity to live with a host family. This would be a cheaper alternative to student rooms and private rentals.

It is similar with the cost of living, where a student could swap out having dinner in a restaurant with a week’s load of groceries; hailing a taxi to get you places with taking the metro or the tube; buying medical supplies there with importing them in from home; and limiting movie nights to once a month, or opting for free shows and touring the city itself.

Kenyan learners eyeing Higher Education overseas are now being urged to continuously build practical and modern marketable skills if they are to thrive in today’s global competitive job market.

Learners, according to Mohamed, should adopt technical and modern career courses capable of combating climate change and solving global tech challenges through the use of AI.