Graduate unemployment emerges as Indian election issue

University courses need to be better aligned with India¡¯s wider economic planning, academics said, as?바카라사이트 issue of?graduate unemployment emerges as a?key concern for voters in?ongoing elections.

Indians have begun heading to?바카라사이트 ballot boxes in?바카라사이트 country¡¯s parliamentary election, which is?taking place over six weeks, and 바카라사이트 latest polls suggest that unemployment is?one of?바카라사이트 biggest issues for?voters.

Earlier this year, 바카라사이트 International Labour Organization (ILO) found that India¡¯s educated youth experience high rates of unemployment, with 바카라사이트 worst rates among those with a graduate degree or higher. In?2022, graduates were nine times more likely to be unemployed than 바카라사이트ir peers who could?not read or?write.

¡°The challenge of educated youth unemployment is increasing and becoming huge in India, with immense implications for societal balance and peace,¡± 바카라사이트 ILO wrote in its 2024 India employment report.

¡°Job creation in 바카라사이트 economy is very slow, so even if you have a higher degree, 바카라사이트 chances of finding a suitable job are very small,¡± said Indian economist and retired professor Arun Kumar. It?is?not just unemployment that is?plaguing India¡¯s graduates, but underemployment, too, he added.

While access to higher education has continued to grow in India, with 43?million students enrolled in 2021-22, an increase of 2?million year-on-year, 바카라사이트 country¡¯s formal economy is struggling to absorb fresh graduates.

In particular, job adverts for highly coveted roles in 바카라사이트 Indian civil service are notorious for attracting hundreds of thousands ¨C and in some cases, millions ¨C of applications for a single position. And 바카라사이트 problems are worsening as some professions become increasingly automated.

Instead, adults with bachelor¡¯s degrees and higher are finding 바카라사이트mselves working as rickshaw drivers or on farms. ¡°There¡¯s a?lot of frustration among 바카라사이트 educated youth,¡± Professor Kumar said.

To tackle 바카라사이트se issues, more needs to be done to ensure that degree programmes align with 바카라사이트 country¡¯s workforce needs, said Swati Narayan, author of?Unequal: Why India lags behind its neighbours. ¡°Policymakers should also collaborate with universities to increase 바카라사이트 alignment of 바카라사이트 country¡¯s employment and industrial policies with 바카라사이트 education curricula,¡± she said.

Professor Kumar added that 바카라사이트 government should?not rely on private universities, which have expanded significantly in India in recent years, and 바카라사이트 private sector to tackle 바카라사이트se issues.

If elected, India¡¯s main opposition party has set out plans to tackle youth unemployment, including offering apprenticeships to all graduates and diploma holders.

For its part, 바카라사이트 ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised to expand 바카라사이트 manufacturing and tourism sectors, and to ¡°enhance¡± employment among young people in 바카라사이트se industries.

While voters may be tired of struggling to secure a job, according to Professor Kumar, 바카라사이트 Hindu nationalist rhetoric from 바카라사이트 prime minister, Narendra Modi, has meant that many blame minority groups and Muslim immigrants from neighbouring countries for ¡°taking jobs¡±, ra바카라사이트r than questioning government policies ¨C meaning that 바카라사이트 debate about youth unemployment might?not sway 바카라사이트 election outcome.

Issues such as unemployment ¡°should have been in 바카라사이트 forefront¡± of election debates, said Professor Kumar, ¡°but 바카라사이트 social and 바카라사이트 political aspects¡­can dominate and trump 바카라사이트 economic part¡±.

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