East Africa Must Promote STEM and Language Concurrently

A new study has placed Nairobi at the peak of the African continent as having most English proficient speakers. According to the English Proficiency Index 2019 (EPI), residents of Nairobi were found to have the highest knowledge of spoken and written English at 61.94 per cent for any African city. Out of the 100 countries that were ranked as well as regions, only Nairobi and Lagos (which scored 58.47 per cent) are in high aptitude level. 13 African countries took part in the survey. Although Nairobi ranked the best as a city, Kenya itself came in second after South Africa globally at position 18 and six respectively. In addition to ranking countries, the EPI also looked at the correlation between English proficiency and its impact on the economic competitiveness of a country including increased labour productivity as well as higher income. While there is no direct evidence that English proficiency drives the economy, there is indication that the acquisition of English skills supports economies’ quest to remain competitive, thus supporting the broader need for the language for economic growth. The findings of the study indicate that as economies compete to remain afloat, increasing the linguistic competencies of its citizenry should