Lack of Employment Opportunities for Qualified Students

You are highly educated, you possess several degrees attached to your name, yet you have not found a job. What did all your education amount to in the end if you have not found an opportunity to apply your knowledge in real-life situations in a working environment? What did all those prestigious degrees amount to if no one recognized your qualifications and erudition at the end of the day? Where do you channel your frustration if you have not found a work environment directly proportional to the level of marks you have achieved and the quality of education you have meticulously struggled for? What if a science student, after failing to land a job, has to change their field altogether and search for low-paying clerical tasks that are not related to their area of expertise? There is nothing sadder than having to hate the subject you once loved and enjoyed studying due to trying and failing to bag your dream job.

This issue is a recurring problem in India which the top universities in Andhra Pradesh are trying to address. However, the problem largely remains because the government has never touched upon the core of the problem. The nuclei are overpopulation, poor educational policies, the still-orthodox society, and lack of correct skill-sets. According to many reports, nearly 2 million graduates and half a million postgraduates are unemployed in India; about 47% of the graduates in India are unsuitable for any kind of role in the industry.

Also read: Placements At Vignan University

This discrepancy between high qualifications and joblessness is the lack of hands-on experience in contrast to textbook knowledge. Colleges and universities in India require students to score good marks, that is all. They do not seek to train students and hone their skills in practical fields. Students merely gobble up textbooks and earn excellent marks, and that is where their education stops. Suppose a student wants to work in research and development in a company. Will they handle complex instruments needed for experiments if they have only learned about their functions in textbooks, never having touched one?

• Another problem with higher education is the fees sought by private institutions. The majority of the population in India is from the middle class, where you have at most two breadwinners in every family. The skyrocketing fees frighten families away from these educational establishments, and the young ones are asked to join a local college with extremely poor turn-outs and infrastructure. Students mostly cut class out of dissatisfaction and only appear for examinations after a week of cramming. Tackling these battles are the top universities in Andhra Pradesh and Vignan Engineering College in Guntur, aiming to bridge this gap.
• When comparing Indian colleges to those in foreign countries, a vast chasm has not yet been breached. Students in foreign colleges are free to choose any subject they want as long as it aligns with the job they wish to do in the future. If they wish to form a music career, they can opt for music as their primary, and no one will bat an eyelash. In India, however, the circumstances are vastly different. Societal norms are still a dark rain cloud looming over our heads. If you choose a vocational subject, people will invariably raise an eyebrow. Additionally, despite us spouting values about women's empowerment, families still hope to marry off their daughters after post-graduation. With such mentalities, how do you expect female students to aim high when all that is left for them is a life behind a marital cage?
• Overpopulation is a major factor behind the aforementioned discrepancy. Thousands of students apply for one job, and therefore your odds of getting selected drop to less than o.oo1%. With such ludicrous odds in your favour, getting employed is nothing short of a miracle.
• Another crucial factor is the lack of speaking skills. Communication is of the essence when it comes to interviews which, for some odd reason, is conducted in English in a land that is so versatile when it comes to language, English being the least of our concerns. However, there is no going around that fact. Hence, sharpening communication skills is essential. Unfortunately, this is not honed nearly enough, especially in rural regions.

In a nation like ours, so steeped in poverty, orthodoxy, rigidity, employment, rather lack thereof, is an issue everyone is aware of, but no one does anything to change it. Teachers and professors remain complacent as they watch their students give up in frustration. Parents do not consult with the educational board of colleges to alter the syllabi to cater to skills required for the future. Some are lucky to find a speck of light, which the top universities in Andhra Pradesh choose to emulate, while others wander, blinded by the pressing darkness.