OPINION | Jobs Vs Degrees: Why Affordable Skill-Based Education Could Be The Answer
By Sukanta Parida
In recent times, we are seeing that there is a huge gap between what degrees are providing and the requirements of the industry once the students step into the professional world. With the National Education Policy 2020 focusing on skill-based education, the mindset is clearly changing, but education is becoming expensive even as we breathe. Skill-based education under the guise of professional courses is even more expensive. Thus, in the debate between jobs vs. degrees, affordability is a big factor that is hindering today’s jobless youth from being ‘qualified’ for success.
India has about 65% of its population that is under 35. Most of these young individuals are students who are about to step into their professional lives after completing their education. However, a poll conducted by India’s Graduate Skill Index found that 44.3% of university graduates were employable in 2023, which further dropped to 42.6% in 2025. A wide gap has been seen in theory-based education, and how students lack practical knowledge.
Many students lack the practical understanding of the subjects they have studied, as there is a dearth of non-technical training offered to students. Hiring delays in the IT sector and deficiencies in the educational system all contribute significantly to the problem of student employment.
The 2020 National Educational Policy places more of an emphasis on learning that is skill-based. It is in line with the times, where students are taught not just theoretical information but also the actual applications of that knowledge. The emphasis now is on applied learning through practice-based learning, on-campus labs, and experiential action learning through LIVE production. Furthermore, collaboration between academia and industry is needed today more than ever. It reduces learning gaps and aids pupils in understanding the concepts more fully. Instead of starting as a fresher and learning on the job, Education 5.0 guarantees that a student who graduates from university is prepared to be assimilated by the industry.
This shift in approach to education is also a result of employers now looking for graduates who possess skills and previous experience in their chosen field. Earlier internships were deemed sufficient for such students; it was seen that students returned with a very macroscopic experience. Universities are now shifting from traditional, theory-based education to applied learning and action learning inside the university setting. This is being achieved by shifting to on-campus industries, which can inspire passion, commitment, and the will to build on-campus in-house production and product development facilities connected to the market. Students can stand out from the crowd by gaining a deeper grasp of their business and receiving practical training before entering the workforce through manufacturing units on university campuses and industry partnerships.
Establishing a range of on-campus manufacturing facilities and labs backed by well-known companies from a wide range of industries, like Yamaha, Schneider Electric, Dassault Systèmes, and others, is one way that universities can encourage entrepreneurship and employment. A parallel model that addresses essential processes, including product design, development, patenting, publishing, production, and marketing, must exist in addition to theory.
While an engineering degree programme should include hands-on experience building e-rickshaws or designing cars, an agriculture student has to understand how technology may be used to maximise yield. This changed attitude towards education has led employers to seek students who already have better experience rather than choosing those with purely theoretical knowledge.
Professional courses have always been expensive. As per an estimate by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the per capita national income in 2022-23 was INR 172,000. The spending capacity is even less, and education often gets the last piece of the pie. Thus, affordable skill-based education is a necessity today rather than a choice. To truly reap the benefits, inclusive education where students from all social and economic strata are present is the need of the hour.
While government funding for private universities will help in having better labs for the students, scholarships will also help. The lateral entry system will also be beneficial for students who do not have the finances to continue their education. They can collect credits, take a break, earn some money and continue later. Moreover, B Voc courses where the job is in collaboration with industries, and their work on the floor is accounted for as practical work and separate theory classes are conducted, are also a great way to make skill-based education within the reach of the economically marginalised students.
Institutions of higher learning must realise that they will be crucial in determining not only the destiny of the students but also that of the country. Since there are no shortcuts, it takes a consistent and sincere effort to build such universities.
(The author is the Director-Marketing and Admissions, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Odisha)
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