TTU has spoken: Unemployed teachers should go for plan B

Experts in economy go beyond the common definition adding that success in entrepreneurship doesn’t only mean making money but, more importantly, making a difference and inspiring a basic culture of changing business for good.

We are not interested in the jargon but our focus here is to underscore the attached benefits in explored economic avenues to unlock income stagnation especially among educated members of the community who are still covered under ‘a heavy blanket’ dreaming of employment as the only means of survival after graduating from college.

In the recent past, the Tanzania Teachers’ Union (TTU) President, Mr Gracian Mkoba, challenged hundreds of university graduates in the teaching profession to think outside the box instead of waiting for the state to offer them employment.

The pinch of professional dilemma among graduate school teachers arose very strongly following recent announcement by the government to hire science teachers first and let their colleagues in arts subjects wait for future plans.

Both positive and negative thinking arising from this government announcement can easily be discerned. First, it is a good idea for the nation to have a sufficient number of school teachers for efficient coverage of the academic syllabus.

Again, it is a commendable move to give new impetus to science subject teachers to match up with the long-term government plans to boost industrial economy.

However, some lines of weakness are equally vivid. The training of our school teachers needs to be well coordinated. Psychologically, it hurts for a graduate to remain idle after all those years of academic struggle for a career but at the end of the day not realizing the objectives. They need to be assisted to engage in income generating projects as capital is the major setback.

Nevertheless, we do not intend to question the rationale or relevance of the pronouncement but rather support the appeal by the TTU leader that unemployed graduates should not dwell on despair but rather get connected to different opportunities.

We all need to think beyond the walls to discover a myriad of opportunities awaiting effective exploitation. Perhaps the biggest obstruction of economic development is the mindset. In fact, being educated is an added advantage and a perfect reason to take risks boldly and gallantly venture into entrepreneurship.

Sadly, experience has revealed that copying or duplicating of business remains an incurable malady that has impoverished entrepreneurs instead of lifting up their living standards.

For example, a boutique shop in the neighbourhood would limit the thinking ability of many wishers, each dreaming of a similar business. Or cultivation of tomatoes without taking into consideration the market avenues will lead to eventual frustration. Entrepreneurs need to be innovators. We believe there is life outside government employment.

There are dozens of graduates in different disciplines who ventured in modern poultry, fish farming, mushroom farming, vegetable production, husbandry and estate development, among others.

Perhaps the best way for the government to utilize the knowledge imparted on a host of unemployed school teachers (reserves) is through maintained contact irrespective of their afterwards entrepreneurial engagement. Meanwhile, it should be remembered that there are schools at the moment suffering serious shortage of the teaching staff for arts subjects. We must dream big.