Effects of the educated youth unemployment nexus in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Research Question / Issue: The review focuses on the effects of educated youth unemployment on the African continent with specific reference to the Zimbabwean situation. The review was an attempt to answer the pertinent the question; What are the effects of educated youth unemployment in Zimbabwe: to the affected youths, their families, society, the economy of Zimbabwe, and the African continent as a whole? For manageability, the loaded question was split into sections. Research Findings/ Insights: The review established that when it comes to high educated youth unemployment (EYU), Zimbabwe is a victim of the success of its Education For All policy (EFA) which has been operating well since independence in 1980 causing the supply-side of graduates with certificates, diplomas and degrees from schools, colleges and universities to flood the economy which unfortunately has not been growing fast enough to absorb the influx of graduates. The educated youth unemployment has had its toll on the affected youths with their self-worth having been severely affected. Most unemployed educated youths are also finding it difficult to move on to the next stages of life such as marrying, starting their own families, moving out of the family home and be independent of parental support. Some female educated youths find that their age mates cannot marry them because of unemployment and they end up going out with married older man who have money which they desperately need owing to their diverse needs which include enhancing their beauty and looks, and this fuels the spread of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS while it also disrupts marriages. The review also found that families are sliding deeper into poverty after educating the unemployed youths at high cost. It was established that society is affected when these educated youths out of hopelessness turn to various forms of crime and social ills such as theft, drug abuse, violence and prostitution. This tended to bring stressful moments to parents of the unemployed educated youths. The review also noted that society was unhappy with the low rate of return which the once esteemed education system was causing through high production of graduates who end up doing nothing. The review established that government was most affected by the educated youth unemployment scourge because with it comes governance problems, such as crime and social ills which leads it to invest additional resources to control and match with high alertness in case of a possibility of social unrest associated with an idle population. Government was also losing out because of lack of return on investment to education in the form of taxes and development. The review also noted that government was most worried of its unfulfilled promises in the election manifesto and in the economic blue print, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset) and was seized with the problem more so because among the stakeholders affected, government was best positioned to solve the problem because it is of a macro-economic nature. The review advises government to make difficult decisions which may be unpopular to save local industry from collapse and to craft investor friendly policies which lure foreign direct investment for the benefit of the unemployed educated youths