The Hindu Business Line : <I>Employability</I>

At a recent function to mark the release of Skill Mapping Study undertaken by the Tamil Nadu chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry, it was mentioned that although the State generated around four lakh skilled manpower annually, as much as 40 per cent of the engineering graduates and 70 per cent from the Humanities courses did not meet the criteria of employability.

The study has recommended the creation of a Skill Development Fund of Rs 600-700 crore annually as part of a private-public partnership, and the launching by the Government of a Grassroots Level Skill Development Initiative (GLSDI) to train yearly 80,000 students during the next ten years.

Both suggestions are timely and relevant, and can be extended to the whole of India.

But the conundrum of India's educational landscape is that an effective and reliable educational system can only be fashioned and run by decision-makers of discernment and sensitivity in politics and government, while, on the other hand, such decision-makers are becoming rare because of the deficiencies of the educational system itself.

The cardinal question, therefore, becomes: Will those put in charge of the GLSDI themselves measure up to the skills they are supposed to develop?

As member of some University selection boards, I have found that those with very high qualifications and top marks interviewed for posts of lecturers and professors were shockingly ignorant of basic aspects of their subjects and lacking in analytical and communication abilities.

A candidate for the post of a lecturer in law, for instance, was not aware of the writs enshrined in the Constitution or their purpose. He had received 88 per cent marks in law.

Merely churning out substandard graduates in lakhs all over the country without taking care of the quality is bound to lead to the malfunctioning, if not the eventual collapse, of institutions meant to maintain the health of the body politic.

The sooner educationists did something about rapidly falling standards the better.

B. S. RAGHAVAN

More Stories on : Human Resources | Employment | Offhand

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
TRADE WITH CAUTION

Can mere outlays make a difference?

Full Convertibility: Mundell and impossible trinity

A life of rules and queues

Because absolute power corrupts absolutely

Employability

Big issues in ERP for small units

`Businessmen coming back to Bihar'

Emulate London

Nehru's address

Sacrifice by politicians?