NASSCOM McKinsey say 75% engineering graduates are unemployable. You come across Computer Science graduates who wouldn’t be able to name more than one operating system. You have engineering graduates armed with advanced diplomas in C++ unable to write a half decent program. Not just that, the management, principals, directors and faculty members of several engineering colleges prophetically proclaim, “aadhe bachchon ka to bhagwan bhi bhala nahin kar sakta”.

It’s not that the powers that be do not realize the problem. You have a plethora of experts proclaiming unemployability to be a bigger problem than unemployment. You have the Central government rolling out a massive skill development program. The irony of it all is that the engineering and management colleges supposed to churn out professionals are actually getting reduced to degree vending machines producing largely good for nothing engineers.

The malaise is deep rooted. The government having pulled out of higher education, the doors are wide ajar for private players. Too many people having too little to do with education are now owners of engineering and management colleges. You have brick kiln owners, thekedars, zamindars, netas and all and sundry owning professional colleges. Not that I have anything against vernacular businessmen and strongmen, bahubalis, owning colleges – just that the dedication to academic pursuits falls by the wayside when the only obsession is to recover the investments made and create a cash generating machine for generations to come.

The quality of faculty, the quality of management get superseded by the considerations of how can the AICTE requirements be met at minimum cost.

The arrangement works for everybody. People in power understand the trend that BTech is going to be the next BA/BSc. Only the guys who absolutely cannot afford to pay the fee of technical universities even through loans or stretching their finances will be the ones settling for less than a BTech. The demand is going to explode. All you need is a couple of colleges and the financial security of your kin is secured for the next 100 years.

Unless something gives or unless something earth shattering happens, we are staring at no less than a crisis where we churn out maximum number of engineers and managers who could only be employed as glorified clerks.

The problem of unemployability is far more severe than we currently assume. The only hope is for the customers, the students and parents, to wake up to this reality and start demanding more usable curriculum and opportunities for professional development. The closer we inch towards total capitalism, the more active, we’ll need the customer to be.