A Wake-Up Call

In a rapidly evolving global economy, higher education is seen to reduce unemployment by equipping students with essential job market skills. This shift is part of a broader global transformation with technology playing a key role in reshaping the framework across all sectors. Innovations in technology and the rise of automation have led to the shrinking of traditional jobs, compelling job seekers to adapt to the changing demands for new emerging roles by acquiring specialized skills. The scope of traditional academic degrees/programs is now seen as limited in terms of job opportunities, when compared to professional/technical courses.

The NEP-2020 acknowledges this shift by prioritizing skill development as a key component of higher education. However, there are significant challenges related to curriculum relevance, industry needs and connect between academia and the job market. Over the last decade, universities and colleges in J&K have been witnessing a steady drop in student enrollment, which has now reached an alarming stage. To address this downturn and other challenges, we need to evaluate professional courses like engineering, medicine etc, analyze data/trends, assess job market demands, and gather insights from stakeholders. By doing so, we can identify effective strategies to revitalize student interest in pursuing higher education.

Engineering and medicine are two professions that have held sway as popular choices for the students. Especially, in medical field, even in the face of job scarcity, the students travel to neighboring countries to pursue MBBS degrees. Medicine has been revered for its extensive education and training involved in becoming a doctor, which significantly enhances job prospects even in the private sector. Engineering is a discipline that involves the application of science, technology and mathematics to design, and maintain machines, structures, software, hardware and systems and processes. Given its diverse skill set involving practical solutions, it should ideally guarantee job opportunities. However, the profession is grappling with alarming unemployment issues akin to that in academia, which needs a careful study.

In Mar 2019, a report by employability assessment company ‘Aspiring Minds’ revealed that over 80% Indian engineers are unemployable. Most of them are forced to take up jobs in non-engineering fields or remain unemployed. The primary reason cited was the candidates did not have adequate technological skills demanded by the employers. The report indicated that only 3.84 percent of engineers in the country have the technical, cognitive and linguistic skills required for software-related jobs. Over the years, India has witnessed a mushroom growth of engineering colleges with nearly 8,000 institutions including polytechnics and architecture schools. Amid this vast landscape with approximately 2,200 government-run engineering colleges, there are 80-prestigious technical institutions like IITs, NITs, IIITs, and BITS Pilani which stand out for their academic excellence, cutting-edge research and successful campus placements.

These top-tier institutions play a pivotal role in shaping India's technical workforce, contributing to its economic growth and innovation ecosystem. Known for their global competitiveness, these prestigious institutions remain the top choices for aspiring students to build successful careers in engineering and technology; they too face placement challenges. In April 2024, the Hindustan Times published a report highlighting the placements at IIT Bombay, ranking 3rd in the NIRF framework. Out of 2,000 students registered for placements, 712 (nearly 36%) are yet to find placements. The report said that all the companies were domestic with most of them were unable to accept salary packages pre-decided by the institute and it took many rounds of negotiations before they agreed to come over. The same type of situation exists in other IITs. One can easily imagine the situation of other engineering colleges in India, in particular those in Kashmir, where enrolments have been steadily declining.

When IITians are struggling to find jobs, it raises serious concerns about the value/relevance of academic degrees like BA/BSc and MA/MSc, as well as the institutions offering them. Notably, the Universities of Kashmir and Jammu stand at 69th and 87th in NIRF ranking respectively.

Many students, after graduation, turn to competitive exams like civil services, SSC/banking, etc. However, there are limited vacancies with an overwhelming number of candidates, leaving a large number still unemployed. Those aspiring to join academia have to pursue PG/PhD, qualify for NET/SLET, and wait for long openings. If a PhD holder is selling dry fruit or taking up a menial job, it raises questions about the quality of PhDs or saturation in placement opportunities. At a conference, the then MHRD Minister Prakash Javadekar in 2017 remarked that, "If PhD students are applying for sweepers’ jobs, we have not taught them anything." This issue warrants serious reflection, as this is not only the personal setback for scholars but also a waste of public resources.

Today there is a growing awareness among both parents/students regarding the relevance of academic degrees/programs and the career opportunities they offer. If we make a system sophisticated it must translate into tangible benefits. For example, the semester system with 07-subjects, frequent exams/assessments may enhance the quality of a program but it leaves parents to question the validity of degrees after 3/4 years of study.

They encourage their children to pursue courses like healthcare technologist/technicians/data analyst or business management where they can easily enter private sector. Some parents argue if their children start their own project, by the time they obtain such a degree, they would have their own established business. There are students opting to pursue higher education outside Kashmir due to better infrastructure, research opportunities, career-focused programs, and timely degree completion with quicker and streamlined admission procedures in comparison to CUET admissions. Then, students opt for open universities like IGNOU where contact-classes are held on weekends/holidays enabling them to attend their jobs as well. Many youth in J&K are turning towards self-employment and entrepreneurship and enrolling for distance/online courses for being accessible and affordable.

The notion of opening up new colleges within few kilometers distances may seem convenient for students but it diminishes the essence of what true higher education offers. It dilutes resources and student populations, ultimately compromising educational quality at both institutions, new as well existing. Access to quality education is far superior to merely having free access to a college in your backyard where you get only a degree. Instead of duplicating efforts, we should focus on well established institutions; invest in enhancing their facilities, aligning them with long-term goals like skill development, innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship as envisaged under NEP 2020. Students always love to study in larger communities where diverse backgrounds converge, fostering a vibrant learning environment. This optimizes infrastructure as well as faculty effectiveness. A single, well-equipped campus can serve thousands of students, enabling faculty to engage in research, innovation as well as student mentorship.

In a fast-changing world economy, higher education institutions function like business enterprises. The students will be drawn to your establishment only if you offer quality programs with diverse range of options. It is essential to continue efforts to focus on market-relevant skills update curricula and promote entrepreneurship and innovation. Soft skills such as communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking etc is an area where we can concentrate more as it requires less infrastructures. Furthermore, there is a need to integrate technical education with higher education and placing all polytechnics and ITIs under higher education framework. This will optimize the process for effectively utilizing the infrastructure, manpower with improvisations, to meet the skill requirements of students in a cohesive environment.

Universities are meant to generate new knowledge, ideas, and programs and develop new mindsets, to build a healthy society. In light of the evolving job landscape, SKUAST-Kashmir this year launched a B.Tech program in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in collaboration with IIT Mandi. The program aims to equip students with advanced skills in AI and machine learning (ML) for precision agriculture, addressing modern challenges while opening up diverse career opportunities. In a similar stride, the Department of Computer Science at the University of Kashmir recently initiated a 5-year Integrated Master's Program in Data Science and AI. Data science is now a cornerstone of many industries, from healthcare to finance, with the addition of AI enhancing its technological relevance. The students will have direct transition from schools to a heavenly attractive university campus.

We are currently witnessing a transitional phase, where technological innovations are seamlessly permeating every facet of our lives. The students need to understand that no particular conventional field/subject holds any inherent advantage or privilege over the others. It is happening across the globe and affecting all professions like medicine, engineering and others. The history is witness to the fact that the introduction technology and its innovations created more jobs than it displaced. The advent of power looms or the internet was not just technological breakthroughs but they sparked economic growth and large-scale job creation. Thus, the present onslaught is not a cause for despair but an opportunity to embrace this transformative phase with optimism by acquiring relevant skills and maintaining a proactive approach to learning. It is the perseverance and innovation that will eventually lead to a brighter future with opportunities.

Dr Muhammad Amin Malik is a College Principal.