Citizen TV on Sunday featured a well-learned fellow, Kelvin Ochieng’, crowned and creamed from the University of Nairobi with a Magna Cum Laude degree in Actuarial Science. To his detriment, the 2017 graduate has since never been employed.
Instead, he was found to be a car cleaner, grappling to earn a living and barely making it.
A good Samaritan, Christopher Oloo, one day saw him sleeping on the streets and took him in. They live together in Kosovo, Mathare slums according to the Citizen feature.
Tonight, we report on a heartrending story of how years of hard work & excellent academic grades are all in vain for a young man who went through some of the best schools & who ended up homeless on Nairobi's streets
#ShahadaYaMateso & #FirstClassBetrayal, 7&9PM
@PurityMwambia pic.twitter.com/yKTHXRJZGX— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) July 21, 2019
Kelvin’s story warmed the hearts of many, attracting job offers from some of Kenya’s renowned organizations and persons.
Please send him to me..:. And will see how I can help/ @citizentvkenya https://t.co/esTLKkSRwT
— SK (@SerahKatusia) July 21, 2019
He has reportedly received about 20 job offers after his story was aired.
#FirstClassBetrayal
Now that 20 organizations have offered kelvin actuarial science job,he will only need one.
Let them give @KoinangeJeff their numbers so those positions they were offering can be given to other jobless youths.
But they wont hypocrites.#IkoKaziKE
Henry rotich— Raymond Matata. (@raymondmtetezi) July 22, 2019
However, Kelvin’s story is pretty much a drop in the ocean, if we are to consider the number of unemployed graduates in the country.
According to a Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report in 2018, 7million Kenyans were unemployed with 1.4 million out of this figure desperately looking for jobs.
The outcome of Kelvin’s story bore with it numerous unemployed graduates, some with just as excellent academic reports but no jobs to show for it;
https://twitter.com/Beatric75323467/status/1153246646840561664
I graduated in 2016 with a First Class Honors in Gender, Women and Development studies , applied over 3000 jobs at NGOs still no response, really depressing ..Help us. #FirstClassBetrayal #UN #Jeffkoinangelive pic.twitter.com/29viKvkGXa
— C.B. Mwikali (@barbraserano7) July 22, 2019
This, of course, had to come with a few elements making fun of the situation.
#FirstClassBetrayal after tarmacking to find a job in kenya…. pic.twitter.com/adzI0SkvJG
— BUFFALO (@BuffalBuffalo) July 22, 2019
The plight of unemployed and qualified graduates went on a roll, as some of the victims revealed that they had applied up to 500 jobs in vain.
I am a graduate in bachelor of commerce finance option second upper class honours year 2017 as you reach out to kevin reach out to me too #FirstClassBetrayal pic.twitter.com/1Pbni4x2Rv
— Mutai Gilbert (@mutaigilbert20) July 22, 2019
I graduated last year,sent over 500 job applications via email, numerous tarmacking in the city with no successðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜. I hold a Bsc Supply Chain Management, Second Class Honors Upper Division. As you reach out to Kelvin, Reach out to me please. 0704691332. #FirstClassBetrayal pic.twitter.com/aKMApgWI3Y
— Macharia Njanja🇰🇪 (@njanja_dennis) July 21, 2019
PhD student Samuel Gachini hit the headlines on June 19, not because he's made an invention or discovered something that would change the taxi industry, but because he was actually driving it. Wow. #FirstClassBetrayal pic.twitter.com/RBDthSucnq
— Faith Oneya (@FaithOneya) July 22, 2019
The jokers were on their part also relentless.
Thia guy has a PhD in tea cooling 😂😂👌#FirstClassBetrayal pic.twitter.com/hViK920YM0
— Ombeva joseph(OJ) (@Josephombeva1) July 22, 2019
Meanwhile, a section of Kenyans online also took to bashing the A students, warning that “no one promised them a job”.
A #FirstClassBetrayal A students are foolish no one promised them any job .huyo kevin atafute job awache mchezo
— kibanga 💯%🇰🇪 (@Philiphkibanga) July 22, 2019
If your degree certificate condemned you to being employed, that degree certificate is the problem. An educated individual without the creativity to look beyond employment is useless!! #FirstClassBetrayal
— Robert Alai (@RobertAlai) July 21, 2019
What say you, do you think excellent academic papers automatically entitle one to a good job, or simply any job for that matter?