India’s University System Fails to Equip Graduates for Employment

Key skills such as creativity, social skills, and emotional intelligence are not adequately taught in universities.

Photo by David Pennington on Unsplash

Graduate Unemployment Crisis:

• Over 80% of India’s new graduates are unable to secure jobs, with around 90% of engineering graduates not finding employment.
• Even graduates from prestigious institutions like IITs are facing job challenges. For instance, IIT Bombay saw a drop in placement rates and entry-level salaries, with thousands of graduates remaining unemployed.

Mismatch of Skills:

• India’s education system fails to impart the necessary skills for the evolving job market, particularly in the AI era. Key skills such as creativity, social skills, and emotional intelligence are not adequately taught in universities.
• The skills gap between academic training and industry requirements is a significant problem, leaving many graduates unemployable despite the availability of jobs.

Rising Automation and AI:

• AI and automation are exacerbating the problem by reducing job opportunities in fields that require repetitive tasks, such as in banking, customer service, and coding roles.
• Automation is expected to eliminate many white-collar jobs, which will disproportionately affect India’s middle-class workforce.

Graduate Education Not Elevating Earnings:

• University education, particularly in engineering, does not significantly uplift earnings. Graduates often earn salaries comparable to the country’s per capita income (Rs. 2–3 lakhs per annum), while even top-tier IIT graduates earn around Rs. 4 lakhs per annum.
• Graduates are experiencing higher unemployment rates and lower salaries compared to non-graduates.

Quality of Education in India:

• Many Indian universities offer outdated curricula, which fail to meet industry standards and prepare students for current job market demands.
• Only a small percentage of engineering graduates meet industry expectations, further highlighting the disconnect between academic training and actual job skills.

Economic Challenges:

• India’s economy has become increasingly capital-intensive, requiring fewer workers per unit of growth. Even though India is growing economically, the need for new workers is declining.
• This economic shift, coupled with AI and automation, is leading to fewer job opportunities for the large number of graduates entering the workforce.

The Role of AI in Job Displacement:

• AI is reshaping the labor market by replacing both manual and cognitive labor. Traditionally secure, high-skill jobs (e.g., in law, medicine, finance) are now at risk as machines can perform many tasks more efficiently.
• While human workers will still be needed, the number of jobs requiring human intervention will decrease as AI and automation take over more tasks.

The Need for Educational Reform:

• India’s university system needs significant reform to adapt to the changing demands of the workforce. This includes aligning academic curricula with industry needs and providing practical, job-ready skills to graduates.
• Reskilling and upskilling must become integral parts of the education system, particularly in response to the rapid advancements in technology.

These points highlight a deep-rooted problem in India’s higher education system, with graduates finding themselves underprepared for the demands of the job market, especially in the face of automation and AI.