Parliament Question: Employability of Graduates from UP

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 2314 ANSWERED ON - 03/08/2026 Employability of Graduates from UP 2314. Adv Priya Saroj: Shri Pushpendra Saroj: Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has undertaken any study to evaluate whether reduced disciplinary specialization under the NEP undergraduate curriculum has affected the employability and higher education preparedness of graduates from Uttar Pradesh (UP), if so, the details thereof; (b) the placement rates and postgraduate admission rates of undergraduate students in Central Universities of UP during the three years preceding and following implementation of the revised curriculum; (c) whether employers, professional bodies or academic experts have raised concerns regarding declining subject proficiency among graduates; and (d) if so, the action taken by the Government in this regard? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (d): Government of India has framed the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 which emphasises on multidisciplinary flexible curricular structures, integration of skills and recommends that the pedagogy must evolve to make education more experiential, inquiry- driven, discovery-oriented, and learner-centred. It also aims to increase the employability of students by providing them with opportunities for internships with local industry, businesses, artists, crafts persons etc. In line with the vision of NEP 2020, the Government has issued key guidelines and has taken several initiatives to upgrade curricula, pedagogy, in order to create future-ready talent pipeline.To upgrade the higher education curricula, the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has revised its Model Curricula with inputs from industry experts by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science (DS), Machine Learning (ML), Cyber Security, Robotics, Quantum Computing, and other emerging technologies across technical disciplines. AICTE also undertakes regular consultations with industry, professional bodies, academia, and other stakeholders to ensure that technical education remains relevant, competency-based, multidisciplinary, and aligned with evolving workforce requirements keeping in line with the objectives of NEP. AICTE’s Approval Process Handbook 2024-25 to 2026-27 has “Essential and Desirable Requirements for Technical Institutions”, which include Institute-Industry Cell, establishment of Institution’s Innovation Council and compulsory internship for final year students as essential requirements for approval. To enhance employability of the students and achieve the objectives of NEP 2020, the National Credit Framework (NCrF) has been issued, enabling integration of skill education into academia. The NCrF has a provision for the accumulation of a maximum of 50% of the total credit required through skill-based courses. Further, the University Grants Commission has issued “Guidelines on Sustainable and Vibrant University-Industry Linkage System for Indian Universities” to promote Research & Development and develop the skill sets amongst the learners and make them industry ready. UGC has also introduced “Guidelines for Internship/Research Internship for Under Graduate Students”, with an aim to improve employability, develop interest for research and provide exposure to emerging technologies. Further, UGC has also formulated the “UGC Guidelines for Higher Educational Institutions to Offer Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programme (AEDP)” to embed the competencies required by the industry in the university curriculum. The Ministry of Education implements the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) to impart on-the-job training in collaboration with industry to enhance the employability of youth and has also launched SWAYAM Plus platform in February 2024. This platform offers more than 500 employability-focused courses. These courses have been curated from more than 80 industry partners across 15 sectors, including Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Semiconductor Manufacturing, BFSI, Healthcare, and Advanced Manufacturing etc. More than 06 lakh learners have enrolled on SWAYAM Plus platform for their Skill augmentation.Ministry of Education has implemented the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) in alignment with NEP 2020. Under NMEICT, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software platform SAMARTH has been launched, which aims to enable end-to-end digital transformation of administrative, academic, and governance processes in higher education institutions (HEIs). It is intended to streamline operations, reduce paperwork, enhance transparency, and improve service delivery for students, faculty and administrators of HEIs. Samarth has more than 40 modules including Admissions, Training & Placement. As per the report available on SAMARTH portal more than 17 lakh students have enrolled in Post Graduate programs including more than 26,000 enrolments in Central Universities in Uttar Pradesh that have adopted SAMARTH module, over the last three years. SAMARTH provides Training and Placement Module in order to streamline and automate campus recruitment, placement, and internship processes for HEIs. It simplifies company registration, job postings, centralises student profile management, and provides access to job opportunity and internship. 28 Central Universities including from Uttar Pradesh have onboarded the Training and Placement Module, to provide job opportunities and to facilitate placement for students. Further, the placement of students depends upon several factors, including prevailing market conditions, students' preference to pursue higher education & research pathways and a growing interest in entrepreneurship and start-ups. Many undergraduate students also opt out of campus placements to appear in interviews on their own outside the campus or prepare for competitive examinations. According to the PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR), on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6.1% in 2017 to 3.1% in 2025. Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports, may be seen at: https://www.mospi.gov.in/uploads/publications_reports/publications_reports1780040415321_ 0624fb13-fb47-40bc-b470-7c7e9635c3ef_PLFS_2025_F_REV_29052026.pdf *****