Students pursuing courses like MBA, CS, CA etc. do know that they have enormous employment opportunities in India. Chartered Accountants (CA), Companies Secretaries (CS), Industrial Bodies/Associations, ICSI & ICAI do concentrate much on enlightening students and guiding them in a good direction. But, when there is a slow-down in economy, when there is a talk of imposition of some kind of restrictions by the US administration on outsourcing, students may think negative about their future employment opportunities and India’s growth story. Along with this negative news about economy, when protests take place here and there and through social media, young or students may think that they do not have bright future in India and may think that they may have to face problems in their life.
After the liberalization and from the year 2004, there has been huge growth in India and have seen consistent growth at 8% per annum for some-time between 2004 and 2009 though there were problems in the year 2009 and still the economic recovery is a big subject around the world and its impact on India. China and India are the fastest growing economies in the world now though China is ahead of India in-terms of growth due to many reasons and especially their infrastructure and robust and cheap manufacturing industry. There are projections that within the next 10 to 20 years, we will surpass China very easily in-terms of growth rates. Though there is still slow-down in the economy, recovery is in the process, India can very easily maintain 6% growth for the next 10 to 12 years even if we don’t achieve 8 to 9% consistent growth for a variety of reasons though the Government strives towards good economic growth rate given the limitations and industry emphasizes on growth continuously.
On-thing is for sure that growth has taken place in India and it will go-on even if we assume that we have to go a very long way to maintain a consistent 9% growth in future for a long time. 6 to 7% growth in India for the next 10 years is a reality and it means a lot to India.
To understand the impact of growth that is taking place in India and the future of India in the next 10 to 20 years, I request you to listen to Shri Nandan Nilakeni’s address to Columbia School of International & Public Affairs and referring to his new Book ‘Imagining India’ through the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gICiUXn4T0
Without thinking too much about the issues like policy paralysis, growth getting slow-down and other issues, we should remember that if India can maintain 6 to 7% per growth at-least in the next 10 years, we will be seeing a different India in 2020 or 2025. India can and will certainly maintain at-least 6 to 7% growth in the coming few years. This growth means a lot to the student community and to the youngsters and if they are capable of grabbing the opportunities those are being created and shall be created in the near future. Even Shri Nandan Nilakeni and other knowledgeable and experienced spoke extensively many times of the issue of population and as to how India is going to be benefited with its demographic dividend ie., its huge young population in the near future.
Along with the growth, there are problems in India which are known to everyone and even some western countries may think that India cannot maintain its growth due to its internal issues or perceived problems like caste-system, regional differences, corruption, failure of delivery systems, weak legal system, problems of extremism, problems in primary education, standards in Higher Education, lack of focus on Research & Innovation etc. But, we know that we can address all these problems realistically and definitely we are going to see all around improvement in the society or the administration. Even political system or the political parties cannot ignore the ground realities and they will be forced to change their thinking and they will do everything possible to meet the concerns of the young population to the extent possible. This change is already taking place and as such, we will be able to solve all our problems and there is nothing to worry though we need to exercise caution, should have tolerance without compromising with the responsibility of raising our voice towards the better society in a democratic and civilized way.
Problems in Education & Quality:
Private sector is playing a very huge role in imparting education in India. Though government spends lot of money on education, people including poor people are not in a position to believe in the efficacy of Government Schools and Colleges; and it has resulted in the sharp increase in Private Schools and Colleges. We should be very happy about the Private Schools and Colleges if they are able to produce good quality students. Even the Government encourages the private schools and private colleges through various policies and by giving various concessions. Issue of fees being charged by the Private Colleges has become a big talking-point as some argue that imparting education is not a business activity and as such, the fees to be regulated by the Government through some mechanism. On the other-hand Private Schools and Colleges argue that they should have autonomy in admission procedures and charging of fees as only incentive can encourage the private participation in education sector and only when the autonomy is given in fee fixation, they will be able to maintain the required or expected standards. This issue is not settled well even now.
While we should be very happy at Convent Education, Private Colleges and Prestigious Institutions like IITs and IIMs, we should not forget our social responsibility of enabling the poor children also with good quality education and this is a very big problem to be addressed by us also as a society and by the Government.
Apart from the issue of availability of good quality education to everyone including poor children, the quality has become a very serious concern. We have many engineering colleges and we are able to produce many engineers/computer engineers and we are trying to produce many doctors and so that, medical care becomes available to the masses and also becomes cheaper. However, the fact is that even the IT companies emphasize very often about skill development and they are not happy at the standards of many graduates or the students. Here supply means nothing. Entire industry and even the Government now focus on standards in education sector, skill development and good quality graduates in all fields. We should remember that even now, best goes in search of employment to the western countries and everyone knows the presence of Indian origin people in various developed countries and their role. This is also called ‘brain-drain’ and the day is not far away where ‘reverse brain-drain’ takes place and it is already taking place. With the kind of growth that is taking place in India and will continue in future, many may not be interested in going abroad in search of jobs though many continue to go to abroad if they want to focus on research and innovation.
As such, a lot is going to take-place in the next 10 years or 20 years in India. Our industry may need good quality graduates in all fields. Even-though we have enough number of graduates in all fiends except the fields like CA & CS, our industry appears to be rightly worried at the quality. If there is no quality, with the graduation certificates; youth may not be able to find the opportunities in India and its reasonable and realistic assessment admitted and known to many.
Young Students:
Even with the growth for the last 20 years, and rise in private sector even in the field of imparting education, quality has been a serious concern for everyone and industry keeps emphasizing on this. If a young student now at 18 or 19 pursues his graduation or pursues courses like CS & CA, he should understand and realize that when he or she is at 27 or 30, there will be a different India. Growth will continue even if it is not at 9% consistently and it means enormous employment opportunities to the youth of this country and they should be prepared to grab the opportunities. Along with the opportunities, there will be competition as people going to abroad in search of jobs may be on decrease and the Government under pressure or some-how may support the foreign talent coming to India in all fields and with the FDI coming-in, even the foreign firms or business houses may emphasize on this. With little regulation, in future, foreigners may come and work in India in all fields. It’s a realistic assessment. As such, our young students should remember that along with opportunities, there will be huge competition for talented professionals/graduates.
If our young students want to lead a very happy life at 25 or 30, then, they should fully use their student life in excelling their qualities and standards. Getting a degree is not enough and will not be enough even in future also. If a youngster finishes his degree or course and joins in any organization, then, it’s very difficult for him/her to enhance his skills while he or she is working though he or she may be getting some practical knowledge or skills. No organization pays its employees without using them properly and organizations are completely justified in focusing towards extracting maximum work from their work-force. Many youngsters face these problems now though they are very passionate about increasing their skills and knowledge.
As such, if youngsters do not want to regret in future, it is very important for them to be focused on increasing their skills and knowledge apart from focusing on completing their course some-how.
I would like to express my feeling that the young students and youngsters need not worry at the employment opportunities in future at all and instead, they should be well-qualified and should be employable in the view of industry and if the young students and youngsters concentrates on improving their over-all skills while they pursue their systematic education, their future would be beautiful and they can enjoy their rest of life.
Author:
V.DURGA RAO, Advocate, Madras High Court.
Email: vdrao_attorney@yahoo.co.in
Note: The views expressed are my personal.
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