Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

This paper evaluates the potential contribution the National Committee on Educational Objectives and Policies Report 1976 (NCEOP) is likely to make in creating employment. A brief review of the labour market is presented. This is followed by a discussion on the structural problems that Kenya encounters in harnessing the resources particularly labour, for productive purposes. The role of education in employment creation is also examined. It is strongly suggested that the lack of employment is not an educational problem. Rather, the main causes of unemployment are rooted in the basic structure of the society. In the broad context of employment creation, the NCEOP is seen as recommending marginal alterations on the existing educational structure and curricular which have extremely limited employment outcomes for the school leavers. Other issues that are either explicitly or implicitly included in the NCEOP report, such as the potential beneficiaries of the proposed educational changes, and the restructuring of the value patterns of the school leavers on the basis of traditional philosophies are also discussed.