Sample this: 50 per cent of India’s population is below 24 years of age. India is set to become the youngest country by 2020 with an average age of 29, while all major global economies are between 37-48. India is expected to add 200 million in the working-age group of 15-64 years between 2015 and 2050.
Reports suggest that the presence of large percentage of working-age labour force, also called “demographic dividend”, could greatly stimulate growth and prosperity. How can India capitalise on the demographic dividend over the next three decades? That India needs a strong focus on skill enhancement is given. The government should take a holistic view of workforce demand-supply and support growth in existing/new industries for sustainable economic development.
In addition to the government’s role, willingness from business/industry and the people (the Gen Next) are critical in improving the talent pool and thus employability in the country.
It is extremely important that the government provides the right framework to improve education, right from the primary level. In spite of many government programmes like Sarva Siksha Abhiyan, RTE and others, only 18.8% of the population are qualified above secondary level and in the rural areas, it is only 14.7%.
The enrolment rate in primary school is an encouraging 96%, but the dropout rate is rather high. A recent news report states that 80 million children drop out without completing basic schooling in India. Even worse, the dropout rate after the 10th standard is over 57%. The major reasons for the high dropout rates in primary or higher level include financial crunch at home, lack of quality teachers and infrastructure, distance between home and school, among others. Can the government enforce families receiving food security benefits to compulsorily enrol children in schools and thus reduce dropout rates?
The quality of students is a concern, their inability to solve even basic arithmetic problems especially. Children in India are subjected to rote learning. The ones in the 5-10 age group may seem smarter than their counterparts in other nations. But, when we consider those in the 15-16 bracket, the picture differs. For instance, India ranks among the last in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The poor showing is attributed to lack of application-oriented learning.
Can the government water down the over-whelming syllabus, modify it to encourage critical thinking and enable quality learning?
An ASER report suggests private schools are attracting more children in rural areas. Perhaps the government should create a framework and hand over some of the badly managed public schools to private institutions, with the right set of checks and balances should be in place.
Advancements in information and communications technology (ICT) can provide a possible “intervention” solution for improving quality of education including “teaching the teachers” through internet connectivity. Such programmes would also help strengthen concepts among students. The latest UN report says India is lagging behind in broadband penetration. The National Telecom Policy 2012’s vision of “right to broadband” is a step in the right direction. But, relevant localised content is still largely missing.
Although over 2 crore students are enrolled in high schools, there are only five or six options for pursuing an organised career growth. While a few options are oversold, awareness is lacking among the rest. Emotional quotient/intelligence quotient should be assessed for each student in 10th standard, followed up with counselling.
Despite the dropout rate, India manages to bring out lakhs of graduates/diploma and industrial training institute (ITI) degree holders. But, there are serious issues regarding employability as most graduates are unskilled or semi-skilled and lack soft skills. The government’s initiatives like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), national vocational education qualifications framework (NVEQF) are steps in the right direction. However, for this effort to be successful and sustainable, industry should own the skill enhancement/intervention programmes. Can the new companies bill mandating corporate social responsibility (CSR) be used effectively?
CSR initiatives must be result-oriented and measurable. Perhaps, the major industry bodies in India should take the lead in driving a model and mandate companies to work closely with NSDC, NVEQF, along with universities to encourage innovation, help improve skill levels and address employability challenges. In fact, depending on demand, some vocational courses could be converted into full-fledged ITI/diploma courses. Globally, there are several examples of strong industry-academia relationship resulting in mutual benefits. India needs to replicate it.
There are companies in India supporting skill enhancements in entrepreneurship and technology. But a system for experience sharing and bringing industries together is much needed. Most companies in India would have an in-depth understanding of human resource aspects like communication and co-working skills, career progression, assessments, counselling and mentoring. As part of CSR, can these be leveraged effectively to create intervention programmes and support students in colleges/universities?
Even if we assume the government and industry have taken the right steps to improve the quality of education and skill levels, it is critical that individuals have the willingness/desire to learn. Unlike earlier, the ICT era has ensured “anytime” information, thus learning is only limited by the individual’s interest. Also, the Internet-based massive open online course platform offers unprecedented choices.
With the new-age material aspirations driving youth, as in advanced countries, we could soon face challenges of “over-entertained” youth lacking social skills and work ethics. A strong social support system including a personal mentor is much needed to help the youth prioritise and remain focused. To benefit from the demographic dividend, the government should come up with an ICT based long-term plan for addressing the skill requirements by involving key stakeholders. The combined “will” of the government, industry and individual is needed for Gen Next.
The author is vice-president at Symphony Teleca.
Email: krishnak1@outlook.com