It is only by spending more on education
that India can become Viksit Bharat
Bridging the gap between education and employment is essential for India’s economic growth and for its demographics to yield a dividend.
The secret to transforming the nation into a Viksit Bharat lies in building high quality human resource. Advancements in every sphere of the economy require intelligent hands and minds to sustain and further take them to newer heights. Massive public expenditure on education, at all levels, is therefore, a prerequisite for development. India, which spends roughly 4.5 per cent of its GDP on education, state and Central government put together, still has a long way to go before it starts spending the required 6 per cent of GDP on education.
But we sure have the numbers, of another kind. There are 265 million students enrolled in 1.5 million Indian schools. In higher education, the number of enrolments is 40 million across 1,000 universities and over 40,000 colleges. Taken together, at 305 million, the staggering number of students in India is comparable to some of the world’s largest countries. For instance, the United States has a population of around 341 million as of 2025; Europe’s population of roughly 744 million across the continent is almost 40 per cent of India’s student base. Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest country has a population of approximately 277 million, less than India’s student population.
Student numbers serve to highlight the deographic advantage that India has, compared to some of the developed nations of the world which are aging rapidly. But, despite its scale, the employability of Indian graduates remains alarmingly low. According to a 2024 India Skills Report, only 46.2 per cent of graduates were deemed employable by industry standards. Bridging this gap between education and employment is essential for India’s economic growth and for its demographics to yield a dividend.
Key challenges in employability
Curriculum-industry disconnect: Sheer pressure of numbers prevents most higher education institutions from taking the help of industry to update curriculum as per industry needs. Regulatory bodies such as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) keep making model curricula to ease the task of institutes so that they don’t have to go to industry individually for help with the curriculum, but various factors still delay adoption. These include lack of awareness of the availability of model curriculum, lack of visionary leaders inside institutes who can nudge the faculty to change, shortage of faculty and hesitancy on part of faculty to adopt something new.
Fields like data science, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy are growing, yet many institutions lack programmes tailored to these domains.
Key ways to improve the quality of our human resource therefore involve revamping of higher education curriculum.
Promoting vocational and experiential learning: Internships, apprenticeships, and project-based learning must become integral to higher education. Models like the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Academic Interface Programme and Infosys’ Campus Connect provide valuable lessons. Scaling such initiatives can bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world applications.
Building soft skills: Incorporating soft skills training into the curriculum is critical. Since large number of students study in regional language till class 12, the sudden shift to English language at higher level prevents them from developing an ease with the language and they remain poor at expressing themselves and presenting a confident front to potential employers. Regular workshops and peer learning initiatives can enhance these capabilities.
Upskilling faculty: Faculty development programmes need to focus on industry exposure and contemporary pedagogy. Initiatives like AICTE’s Faculty Development Program (FDP) should be scaled nationwide, with incentives for faculty to participate in industrial sabbaticals and research collaborations.
Strengthening industry-academia partnerships: Robust partnerships can create avenues for internships, co-op programmes, and curriculum co-development. Institutions can also establish “Industry Advisory Boards” to ensure curricula remain relevant. For example, IIT Madras’ partnership with industry leaders has led to cutting-edge research and innovation hubs.
Leveraging technology: EdTech platforms such as UpGrad, Simplilearn, Coursera, Edex and Skill-Lync can supplement traditional learning with specialised courses. Virtual labs, simulation tools, and AI-driven personalised learning can make education more accessible and aligned with industry needs.
Focus on regional and global mobility: Encouraging international collaborations can expose students to global standards. Exchange programmes and partnerships with foreign universities can broaden perspectives and enhance employability. Additionally, regional initiatives like the AI-driven Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC) can localise skill-building efforts to meet state-specific industry demands.
Creating employability benchmarks: Establishing a national employability index to measure and monitor HEIs’ success in producing job-ready graduates can incentivise institutions to prioritise employability. Linking Government funding or accreditation to these benchmarks can drive accountability.
