Day 66 – Q 3.Why are graduates from Indian universities considered unemployable by most firms? Examine. Where does the problem lie? How can it be addressed? Suggest.

3. Why are graduates from Indian universities considered unemployable by most firms? Examine. Where does the problem lie? How can it be addressed? Suggest. 

भारतीय विश्वविद्यालयों से उत्तीर्ण होने वाले स्नातकों को अधिकांश फर्मों द्वारा रोजगार के लिए अयोग्य क्यों माना जाता है? जांच करें। समस्या कहाँ है? इसे कैसे हल किया जा सकता है? सुझाव दें।

Introduction:

According to a NASSCOM report, 85% of the Indian university graduates are unemployable. According to a 2016 report by job skills credentialing company Aspire Minds, nearly 80 per cent of engineering graduates in India are not employable. Most of them are forced to take up jobs in non-engineering fields or remain unemployed.

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Reasons for unemployability: 

• Academic focus: undue emphasis on academic excellence and lack of practical industrial relevant knowledge development. For the same reasons, the companies have to train, retrain the freshly hired graduates which is an additional burden and hence prefer not to hire.
• Uncertainty among graduates: lack of focus and definite career path among graduates. As per a latest report, around 40% of the engineering graduates is preparing for various competitive exams in government sector which his not even relate to engineering.
• Curriculum: lack of industry-relevant curriculum.  the courses being taught are not in tune with the industry’s requirements and has not kept pace with the disruptive changes in the industry.
• Sanction of new institutes: the ease of securing approval from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to set up engineering colleges and other higher education regulators has led to the mushrooming of institutes. Most of the education institutions including the better-known ones are understaffed and lack in qualified, competent and suitable faculty members. E.g. the number of approved institutes in Maharashtra alone is around 650. 
• Skill set upgradation: The skills required changes very frequently and according change in curriculum updation is needed. E.g. When the IT/electronics field is moving towards Artificial Intelligence, Cloud computing and so on, the curriculum is centered around Microprocessor and microcontrollers.
• Teaching methods: Most of the institutions still follow traditional way of teaching without realizing that the information is available over the internet and the need of the hour is the application level teaching for practical purposes.
• Basic education: Problems of poor primary and secondary education which reflects in the learning outcome in higher education.

Ways to address unemployability:

• Strengthen the primary and secondary education providing a strong base to improve the learning outcome which would reflect in the application level learnability in the higher education.
• Curriculum: has to be revised frequently as per the changing technology in the sector.
• The focus of higher education teaching has to shift from theoretical knowledge assimilation to practical application level knowledge and thus integrating industrial requirements with academic learnings.
• Regulation of institutes: the higher education regulating authorities has to exercise restraint awarding approvals to start institutions without proper infrastructure, faculty and required relevant facilities.
• Spending: the spending in education sector has to be increased to 6% of GDP as per recommendation of various committees including the latest Kasturirangan which would improve the infrastructure of institutes.
• New initiatives like Hackathon, curriculum reform, anytime anywhere learning through SWAYAM, teacher training improve quality of learning. These need to be effectively implemented.
• Establish world-class multidisciplinary research universities. Create a master plan for every state and union territory. Each state must establish an integrated higher education master plan to provide an excellent education for all its residents. Also, Attract the best and the brightest talent to be faculty members.
• Tie-ups with industries to employ industrial relevant skills during graduation. E.g. several colleges in Tamilnadu has sessions of training imparted by professionals during college periods.

Conclusion

Thus, a complete revamp is needed to meet the present demand and address the future challenge that Higher education is about to face. The various steps taken including schemes like RISE, forming HEFA, Institutes of eminence, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), fellowship schemes, schemes to retain and attract talented faculties etc., are steps in the right direction.