Employment Opportunities for African Language and Literature Experts in Kenyan Employment Sectors.

Kenya has an estimate of 42 ethnic communities displaying different languages, dialects and cultures yet no clear picture exists in regard to either existence of employment opportunities or required qualifications for both language and literature graduates of this fields. Kiswahili is both national and official language as stated in the Kenyan constitution. However still it rates low in the employment sector, though better than the other languages. Foreign languages such as French, German and Arabic are considered as an added advantage in employment sectors such as business, tourism, and other government and parastatal sectors. The low rating of Kiswahili and other Kenyan languages emanates from various factors ranging from colonial language policies that elevated the English language as the official language and the language planning process that elevated Kiswahili to be the national language of Kenya. The low levels of employment rates and poor attitude towards advancement in African languages has a drastic effect on admission of students in the African languages and literature departments in Kenyan universities. A sample of 20 employment sectors carried out in Kenya in 2009, show that Kenyan languages only secure 10% employment opportunities, Kiswahili has 30% while English has 50%. The Teachers Service Commission is the leading employer in the government sector. Kenyan language component is not an independent variable in the employment requirement. Lack of employment opportunities, stigmatization and low motivation are major challenges facing teaching, learning and research in African languages. The article proposes a collaborative and networking curriculum to improve the situation.