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Public Policy Problem

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Submitted By kariuki2008
Words 760
Pages 4
Question: identify public policy problem and propose a policy to address it
Introduction
Definition: According Wikipedia Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. Other scholars define it as a system of "courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, and funding priorities concerning a given topic promulgated by a governmental entity or its representatives." Public policy is commonly embodied "in constitutions, legislative acts, and judicial decisions."
Unemployment as a public policy problem
In Kenya one of the public policy problems is unemployment. Unemployment in Kenya is where persons, who are able to work, are actually seeking jobs, but are unable to find work. According to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, there are nearly 2.5 million unemployed youth, and barely 125,000 are absorbed annually into formal employment. Some have referred to the problem as a ‘ticking time bomb’ saying the number of unemployed youth could rise to 14 million over the next seven years the causes of unemployment in Kenya rage from Government corruption to poverty, to lack of proper infrastructure but I think the cause of the high unemployment is Our Education system. Our education system is very academic. Our children go to school on Saturdays as young as standard 2, a standard 7 pupil wakes up at 4.30 am to study so that they can do well in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education exams. Our education system only develops our children academically yet a Child needs to be developed socially and creatively. Our education system does not therefore allow the child’s full capability to be developed.
Failure of the set public policy in addressing unemployment
Congressional Quarterly Press Nairobi — A report by the Parliamentary Budget Office regarding the Kazi kwa Vijana programme reinforces a view erstwhile expressed by critics that this was an initiative started with good intentions but poorly executed.
The center-piece of the programme was to recruit the thousands of jobless youth and task them to carry out projects like building roads, canals and dams or cleaning public utilities within their constituencies. Through this, two problems would be resolved. One, youth unemployment and second, effective utilization of public money. Considering that more than two million youth are jobless according to latest demographic figures, any effort to provide them with income-generating opportunities is a winner. Notably, youth unemployment and idleness is a serious social problem and has to be tackled through any means possible. Moreover, there was never a clear criteria for selecting the youth, leading to a situation where those with connections with the local politicians had a head start over the rest.
Proposed policy to address unemployment problem
The first thing that needs to be done is to change our education system to include a curriculum that develops the whole child. Our education system is currently undergoing some changes but the changes I read about that are taking place have nothing to do with the content of the curriculum
Proper planning need to be carried out for example kazi kwa vijana Projects were carried out without thorough planning and quickly, most of them stalled due to lack of funds. Today, some of them remain ugly sites in constituencies across the country. Further, funding was never adequate and disbursed far in between, meaning the youth did not have predictable schedule about the work and earnings
The lesson for the Treasury is that empowerment programmes must be well thought out. It does not make sense to dole out money in the belief that it would pull a disadvantaged group like the jobless youth out of poverty.
Conclusion
To solve unemployment problems in developing nations like Kenya there is need for vigorous change in terms of restructuring the education system to advocate for more creativity rather than theory. Proper planning also needs to be put in place when developing policies to combat this problem.

References
1. Clawson, Rosalee A. and Zoe M. Oxley. 2008. Public Opinion: Democratic Ideals, Democratic Practice. Congressional Quarterly Press.
2. Dalton, Russell. 2009. The Good Citizen: How a Younger Generation is Reshaping Kenya Politics. Congressional Quarterly Press.
3. Hudson, William E. 2008. The Libertarian Illusion: Ideology, Public Policy, and the Assault on the Common Good. Congressional Quarterly Press.
4. Hudson, William E. 2009.Kenyan Democracy in Peril: Eight Challenges to Kenya’s future. 6th edition. .
5. Norrander, Barbara and Clyde Wilcox. 2009. Understanding Public Opinion. 3rd Edition.
6. Parliamentary reports

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