Consider the following statements about higher education in India:
(A) The Indian education pyramid is steep, so fewer and fewer people reach the higher education level.
(B) In 2011–12, unemployment among youth educated only up to primary level was higher than among graduates.
(C) In 2011–12, young rural female graduates were the most severely affected by unemployment.
(D) In 2011–12, urban male graduates had a higher rate of unemployment than rural male graduates.
(E) The government should improve the standard of higher education institutions so that students get employable skills.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (C) and (E) only
In higher education, few people reach the top, and educated youth face the highest unemployment.
(A) The Indian education pyramid is steep, so fewer and fewer people reach the higher education level. — Correct. A steep pyramid means fewer people at each higher level.
(B) In 2011–12, unemployment among youth educated only up to primary level was higher than among graduates. — Incorrect. Only about 3-6 per cent of primary-educated youth were unemployed, far below graduates.
(C) In 2011–12, young rural female graduates were the most severely affected by unemployment. — Correct. Nearly 30 per cent of them were unemployed.
(D) In 2011–12, urban male graduates had a higher rate of unemployment than rural male graduates. — Incorrect. Urban male graduates had less (16 per cent) than rural male graduates (19 per cent).
(E) The government should improve the standard of higher education institutions so that students get employable skills. — Correct. More funds and better standards are called for.
NCERT (2026-27): “Higher Education — a Few Takers: The Indian education pyramid is steep, indicating lesser and lesser number of people reaching the higher education level. Moreover, the level of unemployment among educated youth is the highest. As per NSSO data, in the year 2011-12, the rate of unemployment among youth males who studied graduation and above in rural areas was 19 per cent. Their urban counterparts had relatively less level of unemployment at 16 per cent. The most severely affected ones were young rural female graduates as nearly 30 per cent of them are unemployed. In contrast to this, only about 3-6 per cent of primary level educated youth in rural and urban areas were unemployed. The situation has improved moderately as indicated by the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2023-24. Nevertheless, the government should increase allocation for higher education and also improve the standard of higher education institutions, so that students are imparted employable skills in such institutions. …” |