When degrees hardly guarantee success

While 30,719 engineering graduates were seeking work in 2016, the latest figures released show it has touched 35,541 in 2017.
A migrant labourer working at a roadside eatery in Kochi. He earns around C1,000 per day | Albin Mathew
A migrant labourer working at a roadside eatery in Kochi. He earns around C1,000 per day | Albin Mathew

KOCHI: After spending lakhs on their education, when B Tech, pharmacy, MBBS, BDS and other graduates enter the job market, they do not find it heartening to be greeted by a basketful of bleak prospects. The Economic Review that was tabled by Finance Minister Thomas Isaac in the Assembly paints a grim picture of the level of unemployment in the state.

According to the review, there has been an all-round increase in unemployment among professionals till June 30, 2017. While 30,719 engineering graduates were seeking work in 2016, the latest figures released show it has touched 35,541 in 2017. The other professional and technical work seekers include 3,823 medical graduates - which is up from 3,369 the year before, 51,506 diploma holders in engineering, 92,478 ITI certificate holders and 1,320 agricultural graduates. Only for the veterinarians, the number has come down from 609 to 301.

“This spike in the number of unemployed engineers can be blamed on the increase in the institutes offering technical courses,” said Arun Prakash, who after having to struggle for years doing low-paying jobs, finally managed to get a break after leaving the borders of the state. “I did mechanical engineering and landed a job as a store supervisor for a car showroom for a paltry sum of `10,000 as salary. Imagine, a B Tech graduate like me earning `10, 000 after spending over `10 lakh as fees to get the degree, while my friend who opted for videography earns a solid `40,000 per month and sometimes `2 lakh when the season was good,” he added. 

The story is not different for those working in the corporates. According to Joshua Abraham, again a B Tech holder, who presently works in Chennai, he feels dejected for not landing a well-paying job. 
“My parents shelled out `10 lakh for my education, but today I am earning only `3 lakh per annum. Not a neat salary package for an engineer working in a corporate company that makes profits in crores,” he said. However, another B Tech graduate, who didn’t want to be named said, “The plight doesn’t affect every trade. Those who have done civil engineering are getting a good package and jobs are plenty.” 

Having to swallow the bitter pillIn the case of those who have completed their pharmacy degree, low-paid jobs await them in the hospitals and clinics. “We have to spend a lot of money as fees and clear various levels of tough examinations. But the amount we get as salary doesn’t justify the effort or the money spent,” said Rahul George, working as a pharmacist at a hospital in the city. He and the rest of the staff who man the pharmacies, both in-patient and out-patient, of the hospital are paid salaries as low as `9,000. 
According to Rema Thampy, another pharmacist, we have to also put in long hours that sometimes turns into a double shift. “We should be paid a salary at least equal to the nursing staff. But that is not happening. The only way to get a good pay or even job security is to set up a medical shop of your own. But even that is very difficult,” she said. 

No value for quality education
After doing post graduation and then spending years getting a PhD besides spending yet another couple of years to get a post-doctorate, when the person enters the job market, he or she is forced to cough up a large sum to land a job as a teacher in a college. “And if you don’t have the right connections or the money you end up teaching in a self-financing college and that too on a contract basis,” said a teacher in a self-financing college under the condition of anonymity.Lecturers in different self-financing colleges are teaching for salaries as low as `15,000. “Think of the heartache that we have to undergo. After spending years and money to get a degree, we are paid a sum that is even lower than what a labourer makes in a month,” said the teacher.

The Economic Review
Tabled in the Assembly by Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, it says there is an all-round increase in unemployment among professionals

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