Two facts are given about higher education in India: the education pyramid is steep, and the level of unemployment among educated youth is the highest. What should the government do in this situation?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Spend more on higher education and raise the quality of its institutions so that graduates are employable
Few people reach higher education, and educated youth face the most unemployment. So the government should increase allocation for higher education and improve the standard of its institutions, so that students learn employable skills.
Option (1) Shift funds from higher education to elementary education to widen the base of the education pyramid — Incorrect. Moving funds away from tertiary education is not the answer; schools need teachers trained in higher institutions.
Option (2) Use the revenue of the education cess on Union taxes to expand colleges and universities — Incorrect. The cess revenue is earmarked for elementary education.
Option (3) Spend more on higher education and raise the quality of its institutions so that graduates are employable — Correct. More money and better institutions meet both problems.
Option (4) Reduce seats in higher education so that fewer educated youth remain unemployed — Incorrect. This would make the pyramid even steeper; the problem is the lack of employable skills.
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. …” “Growth in Government Expenditure on Education: … Government of India has also started levying a 2 per cent ‘education cess’ on all Union taxes. The revenues from education cess has been earmarked for spending on elementary education. …” |