E Ahamed: Only 25% graduates have employability skills

E Ahamed, Minister of State for HRD

Voicing concern over lack of employability skills among graduates, Minister of State for HRD and External Affairs E Ahamed has said that only 25 per cent of them are employable. “Of late, employability of graduates coming out of our educational system is becoming a matter of great concern. I am told only 25 per cent of the general graduates across all streams have employable skills”, he said, addressing students of B S Abdur Rahman University on their “24th Graduation Day”.

Noting that only 35-40 per cent of engineering graduates are readily employable, Ahamed said, “This is a matter of great concern and needs to be addressed with all seriousness”. Aimed at promoting research collaboration with any other university, Ahamed said the Government has planned to set up 14 research-intensive Innovation Universities in the country.

“The numbers of technology institutes – IITs have already gone up. We are planning to set up as many as 14 Innovation Universities, which will be research-intensive”, he said. He said reforms in the form of mandatory accreditation, prohibiting and punishing unfair practices in technical and medical education, of entry and operation of foreign educational institutes and for establishment of educational tribunals are ready for legislation.

Ahamed said a National Commission/Council for Higher Education and Research for maintenance and coordination of standards for the entire higher education space is also being established. Observing that the Government has undertaken a number of new iniatives as per the skill requirements, he said, “we have also decided to create National level resource institutions — National Commission for Higher Education and Research (NCHER), National Authority for Regulation in Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions and Educational Tribunals.”

Through these initiatives, the number of universities would touch 800 from the present 500 with nearly 50,000 colleges, he said and expressed confidence that 10 of country’s educational institutions would be ranked among the top 100 globally. The higher education system in India needs strengthening in student-teacher ratio and research, he said, adding that ‘government is endeavouring to bring about changes in higher education”.

(Source: Economic Times)

Related posts:

  1. E. Ahamed becomes new Minister of State for HRD
  2. NSDC plans to set up 28 Sector Skills Councils

Tags: B S Abdur Rahman University, E Ahmed, , National Commission for Higher Education and Research, NCHER

This entry was posted on 20 Jan, 12 at 12:18 pm and is filed under Latest News, Policy & Reforms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

  • Arup Barman

    Honouring the observation of E Ahamed, on only 25% graduates have employability skills in India, my humble opinion is that Indian University (May be central or state universities ) need to design their curriculum to skill base or task based one so that activities of students are aligned to their practical life, to their society and to their career. Designing a task based curriculum is the need of the hours. It requires a task oriented faculties with a broad based practical knowledge. Heavy load of theories in professional courses becoming more or less a fashion. Majority of higher educational institutions believes on loads of theories in syllabus rather the practical aspects. The curriculum designer never feels to integrates the tasks and relevant information chains those fit to lives of the youth. Class lecture is stills a prime mode for finishing the curriculum. Here, I strongly believe on the need of integrations of three competences, they are -Life Skills (Competence), Career skills (competence), Global Skills (Competence) and together with acronym LCG with practice dimension the educational curriculum need to be developed.

    Accreditation of Institution and course curriculum is a matter. Managing quality of education needs guidelines. So far the experience goes national level accreditation could not ensure the quality as it was expected. Majority of schools and colleges of India whatever are ther profile(s) and status, without a bare minimum numbers of institute normally go for accreditation to NAAC, UGC, AICTE or such. These are essential to maintain national in boundary standard only. But, now to meet skill demand these are not adequate and all institute should understand about the need for global accreditation for Global Education. The Universities/Institutes of India should national and global accreditation simultaneously for maintaining for maintaining the educational quality at par with other standard. This global and national accreditation would facilitate educational exchange, acceptance of degrees, employ-ability at global standard. All the Institute of repute should the path by breaking legacies rather traditional accreditation, simultaneously with global accreditation. The Intergovernmental Organisations: EDU of Brussal, Belgium is an example of accreditation agency can support to higher higher education of Institution in India. At all level voluntary accreditation of guidlines such as Global Universities Network for Innovation (GUNI), UNGC, United Nations Academic Impact Project etc with practice orientation in curriculum would have greater possibilities to create employability at various ways.
    The education ministry (MHRD) of India may look this issue to ignite the thinkings of employability of the educated youth of our country the “Great India”.

    Dr. Arup Barman,
    (M.Com, PGDipT&D, Ph.D, Post Doc, FISBM, AMT(AIMA),
    F-IRATDE, Germany), FCE (Consortium Euro-American),
    Representative-IGO:EDU, Brussal

    Reader,
    Deptt. of Business Administration,
    Assam University, Silchar-788011



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