Indians pursuing degrees that don't lead to jobs: NITI Aayog
What's the story
India's higher education system is in dire need of reform, a recent report by NITI Aayog has warned. The study highlights a major structural imbalance, with millions of students opting for generic undergraduate degrees that don't necessarily lead to employment. This trend is seen across degree colleges, Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), and polytechnics in India.
Unemployment crisis
Unemployment rates among graduates
The report cites Economic Survey 2024-25, noting that only 8.25% of graduates are employed in jobs matching their qualifications.
The educated unemployment rate is also alarmingly high at 13% for all graduates and 20.4% for women graduates, much higher than the national average of 3.2%.
This indicates a disconnect between education and employment opportunities in India.
Enrollment trends
Shocking statistics on undergraduate enrollments
The NITI Aayog report also points out that a whopping 3.4 crore students are enrolled in undergraduate programs, with a majority opting for generic degrees like B.A. B.Sc. and B.Com.
This trend is especially pronounced among those who want to keep their government job eligibility options open.
The report highlights that there were 1.86 crore applications for just 55,000 government posts between November 2024 and July 2025.
Proposed solutions
Need for industry participation and PPP models
To tackle this issue, the report calls for more industry participation and adoption of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models.
These partnerships could help modernize curricula, introduce job-linked learning, and ensure skilling programs are in sync with changing industry needs.
The report stresses that these changes are critical to make higher education relevant to real employment outcomes in India.
Program reform
Shift from generic degrees to job-linked programs
The report also advocates a shift from generic degree pathways to specialized, job-linked programs.
This is especially true for high-enrollment degrees like B.A. B.Sc. and B.Com.
It suggests applied specializations closely aligned with industry demand (e.g. B.A. Hospitality, B.Com. Analytics) as a way forward.
The study also calls for scaling work-integrated and apprenticeship-embedded degree programs significantly to give students demonstrable work experience upon graduation.