Educated But Unemployed | The Shrinking Value of an Indian Degree
#newspaperinlearning
I encountered a real shocker of sorts even as I was flipping through the pages of The Times of India, this morning on the current state of youth employment and education in India.
It’s about the growing crisis of “too many graduates and too few jobs.” Even while India has successfully expanded access to higher education over the last two decades, the economy has failed to create enough salaried jobs to absorb this educated workforce, leading to high unemployment and stagnating wages for graduates.
In 2023 alone, 67% of India’s unemployed youth (ages 20–29) were graduates, amounting to roughly 1.1 crore people. This is more than double the share in 2004 (32%).
Between 2004 and 2023, India has added about 50 lakh new graduates every year. However, the economy only added about 28 lakh jobs for graduates annually (with only 17 lakhs of those being in salaried positions).
This shows signs of alarm and cause for panic! - the shrinking value of the University Degree across the Nation. Between 2011 and 2023, the average monthly earnings for young graduates actually declined from ₹21,800 to ₹19,573. In contrast, non-graduate earnings rose slightly from ₹9,000 to ₹10,507 in the same period.
The report also highlights a very dismal statistics - that the last five years have not generated adequate salaried employment, and overall salaried earnings for both men and women have largely stagnated.
So why on earth is this trend setting in?
Well, the report cites several reasons, including deep concerns about the actual employability of graduates, skill mismatches, and the urgent need for young men to enter the workforce early to support household incomes.
Quite interestingly, the majority of job creation has not been in the corporate or salaried sectors. Of the 8.30 crore jobs added between 2021-22 and 2023-24, four crore jobs in agriculture, with women accounting for a massive share (38 lakhs) of that growth.
The promise of higher education leading to secure, well-paying salaried jobs is faltering. Consequently, many youths are either waiting longer to find suitable work, or dropping out of education entirely to support their families, while new job creation is heavily skewed toward agricultural labour rather than the salaried sector.
Addressing this crisis of “too many graduates and too few jobs” requires a structural shift of sorts!
In fact, the data shows a clear disconnect between the degrees being handed out and the realities of the job market.
There is an urgent need for a huge overhaul in the higher education sector.
Historically, higher education in India has focused heavily on academic theory and degree completion rather than practical employability. In order to bridge this gap, students in universities and colleges must evolve from focussing on “Degrees” to “Skills”.
The curriculum needs an aggressive overhaul. Instead of rote memorisation, students and institutions must focus on foundational, adaptable skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, digital literacy, and communication.
To this end, Industry-Academia Interface is the need of the hour. Mandatory apprenticeships, immersive internships, live industry projects, should be part of graduation requirements, not optional add-ons.
Higher educational institutions should offer outcome-based, specialised micro-credentials (e.g., a six-month certification in data analytics or green technology) that allow students to upskill quickly and enter the workforce!
Every discipline, from commerce to humanities, needs to incorporate how AI and automation are changing that specific field. Graduates who know how to leverage these tools will have a distinct advantage.
Ultimately, the solution lies in aligning what students learn with what the industry actually needs!
However, sadly, what the University teaches is different from what the student and the industry need!
It’s high time higher educational sector wakes up from this stupor nay slumber and bell the cat!
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