newspapers. While this looks simple and straightforward, it comes with its own challenges to rural graduates. Firstly, some rural areas have no access to newspapers. Even in places where newspapers are available, they either arrive a few days after the publishing date, while some newspapers (especially those that have job advertisements) are not found anywhere.
In other instances, there are very few newspapers so that by the time rural graduates reach the shops selling the newspapers they find them already sold out. This is unlike urban centres where graduates have different options such as various shops and filling stations or garages where they can buy newspapers.
The internet is a better option. However, in the absence of libraries and/or electricity supply in most rural areas, this option fails to address the needs of these rural graduates. Using cellular telephones to surf the internet and access job websites and some newspapers sounds like a better option, but this option too has its own challenges. Firstly, the internet connection in most rural areas is not reliable. Secondly, since cellular companies charge high prices for data and airtime, some rural graduates cannot afford these costs. Moreover, having no access to printing facilities means that these rural graduates have to stay on the internet much longer and take handwritten notes. Those who have laptops are then able to draft application letters but still have to travel to town to make copies of the required supporting documents and to certify them. They still need extra cash to print, scan and email or fax those documents before taking transport back home. Worse still, the absence of electricity means that rural graduates can go for several days without being able to charge their phones. Meanwhile, urban graduates do not have these challenges. So, the life of a rural graduate is characterised by incessant struggles.
from education, rurality is a critical factor when discussing the correla- tion between education and social upward mobility. Perhaps the only consolation rural graduates have is that they possess degrees which give them hope that one day they will get proper jobs and start elevating their social status. However, we have to reiterate that having a degree that does not assist the rural graduate in improving his or her social status might be even more frustrating than not having a degree at all. This is because there is hope for a better life but such hope is dashed by the circumstances outlined above. Meanwhile, success remains a mirage to the rural gradu- ate. Our proposal is that government and business should join hands to address this evident disparity. Their policies should cater for these realities faced by rural graduates. The first step is to improve the infrastructure in rural areas and to build academic institutions.
In conclusion, education has a major role to play in people’s social upward mobility. But while this is true, it would be an exaggeration to argue that education is a panacea to graduates’ social upward mobility.
Other factors should be equally considered in the analysis. Importantly, the rural/urban dichotomy means that graduates should not be perceived as a homogeneous group. Their experiences are not always the same.
Lastly, how we define the concepts ‘rural’, ‘urban’, ‘rurality’ and ‘employ- ability’ determines the types of conclusions we arrive at and the solutions we propose. Government, business people, researchers and ordinary citi- zens need to join hands if the current status quo is to change. Our pro- posals might not address all the challenges, but they are a good start towards addressing the plight of rural graduates.
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© The Author(s) 2020
A. Masinire, A. P. Ndofirepi (eds.), Rurality, Social Justice and Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Volume I, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57277-8_4