Otuma Ongalo
Those of us who were in the pioneer class of 8-4-4 system were humbled by the academic exploits of one Naeem Samnakay when the KCPE results were announced in 1985. The boy then topped the nation and was admitted at Alliance High School.
Four years later, Samnakay was at it again. He was the best in the maiden KCSE and like many other top performers after him, he dreamt of becoming a medical doctor.
The young man — probably now in his early 40s — disappeared from the limelight after twice teaching us humble lessons in academic excellence. Google search of his name indicates he is now Dr Naeem Samnakay, a paediatric surgeon and urologist. His address is listed as Coghlan Road, Subiaco WA 6008. Wherever that place is, it’s definitely several seas and thousands of miles from Kamukuywa, where many folks would wish to have urological services had it not been for their bloated egos.
I’m reliably informed that Samnakay studied in Australia and is now practising medicine in the United States, where he is a citizen. That is Samnakay’s tale — born, bred and initially educated in Kenya, professionally shaped in Australia and domiciled in the US to serve the people of the land of opportunities. His story is a typical plot of other top KCSE candidates we fete every year as national heroes but eventually end up overseas in the never-ending trend of brain drain and search for greener pastures. Forget about the usual storyline of top academic achievers: " I want to be a medical doctor (usually neurosurgeon) to help my suffering people." The dream, quite often, materialises but the beneficiaries of the geniuses’ services are Westerners, mostly Americans.
And you cannot fault the big dreamers. It is all to do with the curse of the nation’s failure of never knowing what is good until someone elsewhere snaps it.
It is surprising that graduates of the much-revered profession get disillusioned like those who opt for the not so glamorous professions. It was great irony to see several medical graduates protest this week following delay in posting them. The 400 graduates said they have been whiling away time at home for several months after successful completion of their rigorous training.
The Medical Services Ministry says it has been waiting for Sh750 million to hire them. The apparent largesse is not forthcoming from the same Government that recently spent over Sh31 million in weeks of ill-informed shuttle diplomacy to pull the suspects of post-election violence off the hook. It is the same Government that seeks to spend around Sh3 billion in legal fees for some of the suspects at The Hague if shuttle diplomacy comes a cropper.
As the Government dilly-dallies on employments, the country suffers acute shortage of doctors. Official statistics indicate there is one doctor for 100,000 people in Kenya. This is way below the World Health Organisation’s recommended ratio of one doctor per 5,000 people. There are several districts that do not have a single doctor while the employed ones are demoralised and spend most of their time in private consultancies.
Recently, the Ministry of Medical Services decreed that doctors who want to pursue post-graduate studies under Government sponsorship would not be released due to lack of funds. Many of those who had already been admitted by various universities either postponed their plans or quit to pursue studies under private sponsorship. It is very unlikely that those who quit in a huff will rejoin public service or even work here.
The official reward for the much-glorified profession is pitiable compared with what other professionals reap. A newly employed doctor earns about Sh40,000 per month. This is almost what a matatu driver earns. If this is the reward for our ‘A’ plain students, it is not surprising that we fete them every year as beacons of hope only for them to seek greener pastures elsewhere.
The writer is Senior Editor, Production and Quality, at The Standard
