Why lakhs of Graduates Unemployed in India despite the rising Colleges
Education in India has expanded at a rapid pace. The number of colleges and universities is increasing day by day, and millions of young men and women are earning bachelor's degrees. But with this expansion, a strange problem has emerged - unemployment of millions of graduates. Why is this happening? Why are educated youth not getting jobs when the economy is growing, and the number of colleges is increasing? In this blog post, we will seek answers to this question. We will start from the historical background and go to the current situation, reasons, expert opinions and solutions.
India's economy is one of the fastest-growing in the world. But this growth is known as 'jobless growth' – that is, economic growth is happening, but not enough formal jobs are being created. As a result, millions of graduates are being left unemployed. The problem is not just economic but also social and cultural. We will now start from the historical perspective.
Historical Background: Changes in Education
The history of the Indian education system is very rich. In ancient times, India was the centre of education in the world. The example of Nalanda University is well known to everyone. Chinese scholars Fa Hien and Hiuen Tsang came to India to receive an education. Greeks, Indo-Aryans, Arabs and Europeans came to India to exchange culture and knowledge. At that time, foreign students came to India to learn the subjects they liked, to follow their passions. Education was not for high-paying jobs or social status.
But when the Europeans, especially the British, came, everything changed. Even after 200 years of slavery, Indians have increased their attraction to the English language. In today's interviews, HR first wants self-identification in English. Even if you are qualified, you get rejected if you make a small grammatical mistake. Developed countries support their mother tongue, but we are encouraged to be perfect in the language of our former enslavers. Today, education is only equated with a good package job, linked to money, not to follow a chosen path.
As a result of this change, education has become a 'tool of slavery'. We use education to get a job, not to develop the skills we want. As a result, millions of graduates are unemployed. One solution could be to close at least 40% of engineering colleges. We have too many colleges. Education should not be used for slavery, but to follow the path of the children's choice. There will be no fear of recession in this. If the mental health of the youth improves, the country will develop, and the lives of the youth will not be exploited in foreign-invested multinational companies.
Current Situation: Statistics and Data
Now let's move on to the present. Only 15% of people over 25 in India have completed a bachelor's degree. That's half of Germany's and a third of the US or the UK's. But India has about 140 million graduates. What about their employment status? According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-24, one-third or 45 million graduates are out of the labour force. This is largely because of women. Only 40% of female graduates are in the labour force; the rest are out because of domestic work.
Two-thirds or 95 million graduates are in the labour force, but not all are employed. India's overall unemployment rate in 2024 is 3.2%, but among graduates it is 13%. Among the uneducated, it is almost zero. Globally, India's graduate unemployment is similar to that of low and middle-income countries, but 3-5 times higher than in Europe and North America.
Unemployment among graduates is highest in their 20s, over 33%. It decreases with age. 85% of unemployed graduates are under 30. According to the ILO and IHD reports, this is due to the lack of quality jobs and the ability of educated youth to wait for good jobs. They do not want to take low-quality jobs. But young people from disadvantaged groups are forced to take any job.
Graduates in India's workforce are 13%, and illiterate 23%. In poor states like Bihar, the share of graduates is low. Graduates are more likely to be in salaried jobs (57%), while the illiterate are only 6%. Graduates are more likely to be in the formal sector and less likely to be in the informal sector.
On the salary side: Average casual worker earns Rs 8,500 per month, self-employed Rs 10,500, salaried Rs 15,000. Graduates earn more in all types of jobs. Graduates are in the service sector (66%), 16% in industry, 16% in agriculture. They do high-skill jobs, such as education, computer programming, and finance.
According to the India Skills Report 2024, only 51.25% of graduates are employable. It was 34% in 2014, but still more than half are unskilled. This shows the gap between education and industry.
Main Causes of Graduate Unemployment
Now, let's discuss the causes in detail. The causes of unemployment are economic, social and technological.
1. Skills gap and outdated curriculum
Colleges focus on rote learning, not practical skills (such as data analytics, green tech, and digital literacy). Many engineering graduates lack practical projects. More than half of graduates are not job-ready.
2. Jobless growth and sectoral inequality
Economic growth has not created formal jobs, especially in manufacturing. The service sector contributes a lot to GDP, but the youth are moving to cities, and there is a lack of skills in villages. This leads to regional inequality.
3. Failure of the education system
Poor industry-academia linkages, poor infrastructure, and a lack of campus placements. Government spending is not keeping pace with enrollment.
4. High supply, low demand
Millions of graduates every year, but few quality jobs. Supply exceeds demand.
5. Prestige factor and mismatch of aspirations
Graduates reject skilled manual jobs (e.g. rigs, shipping) and want office jobs. This leads to long unemployment.
6. Lack of work experience
Many lack internships and networking, and CVs are weak.
7. Informal sector trap
Many get stuck in low-quality, informal jobs and lack social security.
Economic reasons: recession, lack of industrial growth. Social reasons: mismatch of skills in the education system, population growth. Technological reasons: automation, lack of skills training.
Expert Opinion
Lekha Chakraborty, professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, said: "A degree alone is not enough for a job. Job readiness is linked to skills and apprenticeships. Many engineering graduates are not industry-ready." Shortage of doctors and nurses in the health sector, especially in villages. Only 4,413 specialist doctors by 2023, when 22,000 are needed.
Arun Kumar, retired professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, said: The government has not invested enough in health and education. The education system is flawed; it needs to be fixed. We produce 50,000 world-class students, most of whom go abroad. We need millions. According to the ASER report, 42% of 14-18-year-olds cannot read simple sentences in English, and more than half cannot do basic division. 96% of 14-year-olds go to school, but only 67.4% at 18. Education needs to change to make PM Modi's dream of becoming a 'Vishwaguru' come true.
Maheshwar Peri, Chairman, Careers360, said: Millions of graduates are underemployed, especially in healthcare and engineering. 2.5 million students apply for 100,000 medical seats. What do the rest do? Real-time tracking is needed to bridge the gap between jobs and skills.
Personal Opinions and Observations
From the personal experience of many, we have all faced unemployment. At a personal level, think about what you want to do after school. There is no shame in selling ice cream. But everyone wants to be an engineer or a doctor. There is inequality in this. There are many careers, but we understand later. Lack of guidance, no space to explore options.
Pedagogy needs to be changed. Change the method of imparting knowledge, scoring, and education. There are many more important things than marks. Graduate-level knowledge is not enough to be a pioneer, just an introduction to new knowledge.
Graduates do not know how to use MS Excel, which is a daily task in MNCs. They take degrees because their friends have taken them. There is no CRT course in college, which does not make them dumb, but teaches them to follow their dreams. They take jobs outside the stream (Civil Engineer -> Unix Admin). College life is spent in gangs, cricket, and cinema. Does not follow the heart, does not listen to the inner voice that death will come, 9-5 jobs are meaningless if there is no passion. Low confidence, fear of interviews. Blames the country and the college. Spends time on TV/social media.
Students in India graduate just to graduate. They want to gain less. Under family pressure, they take courses far from their passion, and then they aim for a job. They do not develop soft skills. As a result, they have knowledge but no skills, or they have skills but no knowledge. This is unemployability, not unemployment.
Population pressure: Self-employment is possible, but gets stuck in small investments; large investments are risky. Software jobs are uncertain after 10-15 years. Agriculture is weather-dependent, and farmers commit suicide. Institutional credit is difficult, and private lenders are easy but have high interest rates. Government jobs are safe, but UPSC is difficult for the poor. SSC, RRB, and State PSC depend on selection. Try till 30-35 years, then unemployed. The age limit needs to be relaxed, percentage factor also.
Think of college as a temple, where you learn marketable skills. From the first day, look for marketable skills and match them with self-interest. There is no point in learning if the market does not want it. Do textbooks, e-books, projects, bootcamps, seminars, and networking in 4 years. Do internships in the summertime. But most of the youth spend their time elsewhere instead of learning – partying, drinking. Those who work hard get jobs.
Solutions and Future
Organisations like ITASHA Society are working to find solutions. They provide skills to vulnerable communities, youth and women. They promote skill development and entrepreneurship. This bridges the skills gap.
With India's median age of 28, the demographic dividend is approaching. But education needs to be aligned with market demand. The government has announced an apprenticeship initiative to help 10 million youth in 5 years. But the challenge is to prepare for technological change.
The unemployment of millions of graduates in India is a paradox. Colleges are growing, but there is a mismatch between skills, jobs and aspirations. From historical changes to current statistics, from causes to solutions – everything needs to change. Encourage youth to follow their passions, modernise the education system, and increase industry-academia connectivity. Then India will be a true 'world guru', and unemployment will decrease.
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