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Morris Mpala, MoB Capital Ltd
Interesting story if you Google Anna Alaburda. She is a law graduate from an expensive American university who graduated 10 years ago and is now suing her university as she has not found the lucrative job the university made her believe she will get after graduating.

Makes me think there is a story here for your learned mind. Do we still see degrees as a guarantee to a certain level of wealth? Do certain schools/universities offer the grooming proportional to their cost of grooming? (Remember debate about private schools on pass rate vis-a-vis fees charged).

Should graduates of UZ/Nust or other institutions who have not found lucrative jobs 10 years on also sue?

Sue who and why? Can universities also counter sue for bringing their name into disrepute by not measuring up to their esteemed status of producing a product that industry accepts?

For me it is another reminder that the hustle in life continues till you die. When I was growing up I hustled for my dad’s attention. During adolescence I unscholarly hustled for attention from friends and ladies. When I was in school I hustled for good grades, then I hustled to get a job and now in work life I hustle for recognition by my boss. The fact that one graduated with a degree was just the beginning of the next stage of the hustle.

Your take on the Zimbabwean perspective will be interesting to hear. Let us explore the Zimbabwean situation for instance. Alternatively, given most universities in Zimbabwe are State-owned and given that the State manages the economy, which is meant to provide jobs to graduates, there is a case to be made by graduates who cannot find jobs? Is there a correlation between Government and job creation against independent learning institutions? Are the degrees being studied relevant to the prevailing conditions.

There are a lot of angles to explore, the mushrooming of new universities in Zimbabwe. Do we need them given the job market?

Are universities just a fund raising initiative and not a promise to secure employment? Are universities just training you to be trainable and thus cannot be held accountable to your lack to secure a great future. In the same vein we can exonerate the Government from job security provision unless it was civil servants. But the opposite view is also challenging, that is, are unemployed graduates useful to an economy?

Do we need streets that are littered with non graduates?

And where do entrepreneurs stand in all of this? Whose job is it to create jobs? Is not job creation a gap that both private and public sector are chasing to maximise incomes?

Do we have enough talent to tackle unemployment if Government was to create fertile ground for business incubation? Are we breeding business people not entrepreneurs? In any case is there a distinct difference on these? And can we all be business people or entrepreneurs.

Finally do we need these degrees at all kahle kahle ..?

I have argued MBAs do not run companies but is there a minimum required academic excellence that one needs to lead as an employer or as an employee?

As an individual to what extent do I put my future welfare into other third parties like Government, universities or potential employers? Do third parties do an excellent job on my behalf…?

Morally, spiritually and financially who is responsible for guaranteeing employment after graduating. The other issue that comes into the polynomial equation is the funding model on the graduates given the less than normal absorption of recent university graduates? Will funding this sector be a viable business venture? If not then who funds under graduates education investment and the repayments headaches after university

We are talking about university but can take the same argument to lower institutions of learning and see if the investment is worth the product that is being produced.

Am not here to spoon feed my audience with solutions. Ponder on it and declare a solution that we will apply across.

All stakeholders need to play their part to solve this predicament that is not unique to Zimbabwe and Africa only but a worldwide challenge. Anna Alaburda lost her case in court in the USA and she is required to settle her university fees debt without a prestigious job.

This story brings to the fore the view that by and large you are responsible and accountable to yourself regardless of the fact that in most instances you do not have total control on the environmental stimuli.

“Hustling” is 24/7 it’s a struggle everyday (excuse the tautology there) with or without a degree. We owe upon ourselves and our dependants.

IF YOU LIVE IN BYO PLEASE CONSERVE WATER
IF YOU LIVE IN ZIMBABWE PLEASE USE ELECTRICITY SPARINGLY: SOS (SWITCH OFF SWITCHES)
IF YOU LIVE ON PLANET EARTH PLEASE PRESERVE THE ENVIRONMENT

Morris Mpala is the managing director of MoB Capital, a Bulawayo headquartered micro-finance institution with footprint across the country.