What it takes to be Ugandan, young, rich, and beautiful

The surge in inflation has pushed the cost of goods up. Picture: File 

By Charles Onyango-Obbo

Makerere University lecturers have been pressing for a pay increase, and teachers in Uganda’s public school sector have been crying over pay for years without end.

However, pause for a moment and ask; “what do the pupils and students of Uganda really think about all this education thing?”

I am afraid the answer is rather depressing. And that answer comes from the East African youth study, Holla, done every two years by Nairobi-based market research firm Consumer Insight.

It did the first Holla in 2009; the second one in 2011; and recently it released the 2013 study. The study surveys the attitudes and practices of pre-teens and teenagers aged seven to 25.

This year, in addition to East Africa, the Holla surveyed young people from a few other African countries like Ghana. I shall not ruin your day by comparing what the study says about Uganda’s youth and the other countries, so let us stay home.

Reading is a key part of any education, and how much people read outside formal settings like school and work gives you a crude sense of how much they are interested in ideas and knowledge.

The 2013 Holla found that 65 per cent of the Ugandan youth interviewed said the most important free time activity for them is meeting friends and socialising. In second place, 45 per cent of them said it was listening to radio. Reading came in third at 39 per cent. The researchers concluded that Ugandan preteens read mostly as a requirement at school. In that sense, they are not much different from Ugandan adults, most of who read as a work requirement, you would say.

The real eye-opener though was what these young and wonderful citizens of the Pearl of Africa said about their aspirations.

Going with the top five, a hefty 81 per cent said they wanted to be rich. In second place 54 per cent said their aspiration was to have a family. Third 52 per cent said they wanted to be famous. In fourth, 44 per cent said they wanted to be a professional. Again 44 per cent said they would like to be a leader.

The priorities might be disappointing, but not a disaster yet at this point. That came when they were asked what is the “most important thing in life”.

Leading the list for the 2013 Holla 37 per cent said it was a comfortable life. Next 15 per cent said it was a world at peace. Then 11 per cent said it was career. Next nine per cent said it was a sense of accomplishment. And in a repeat of having a comfortable life, six per cent said the most important thing in life was, well, an exciting life. Education came in only sixth, with six per cent saying it was the most important thing in life.

If you are high-minded, the more discouraging news is in the trends. In 2009, 21 per cent of our youth said a comfortable life was the most important thing in life, and in 2011 it dropped, and only 17 per cent said it was the most important thing. So it has jumped by more than 100 per cent over the last two years. Since “an exciting life” is related to a comfortable life, how did it fair? In 2009 three per cent of youth said it was, but that dropped just a bit to two per cent in 2011.

In other words, the need for an exciting life jumped to 300 per cent since the 2011 Holla.

There are legal ways of becoming rich. You can inherit the wealth, marry into it, work the shirt (or blouse) off your back through a career, which in turn requires that you first study for the profession you want.

However, while Ugandan youths’ desire to become rich has doubled, their interest in working at it through a career has remained unchanged at 11 per cent.