Parliament Question: Employability of Professional Graduates

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2722 ANSWERED ON 09.03.2026 Employability of Professional Graduates 2722. Shri Deepender Singh Hooda: Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government maintains data on the number of students completing professional courses from all public and private universities across the country during the last ten years including the current year, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (b) whether the Government has any corresponding data on the number of such students who secured employment during the same period, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (c) whether the Government has carried out any assessment of the reasons for a large number of professional graduates remaining unemployed, if so, the details of such findings and if not, the reasons therefor; and (d) whether the Government has prepared any time-bound roadmap to improve employability of professional graduates, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR) (a) to (d): As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), the number of students completing major professional undergraduate courses (B.Tech, MBBS etc.) in both public and private universities has shown a significant increase over the years. In the survey year 2022–23 (Provisional), a total of 13,72,209 students completed such courses, comprising 8,09,253 male students and 5,62,956 female students. In comparison, during the survey year 2014–15, the total number of students completing these courses was 8,92,159, including 5,12,461 male students and 3,79,698 female students. The official data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Unemployment Rate (UR), on usual status for persons of age 15 years and above has decreased from 6% in 2017-18 to 3.2% in 2023-24. The details are available in the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) reports, which may be seen at: https://www.mospi.gov.in/download-reports?main_cat=ODU5&cat=All&sub_category=AllGovernment of India launched National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 with an aim for holistic development of students. NEP aims to transform and enhance the quality of education across the country with an objective to establish an education system that is inclusive, equitable, and of high quality, empowering learners to meet future challenges and contribute to national development. NEP lays emphasis on integrating skill development with mainstream education by embedding vocational and practical skills across school and higher education, removing hard separations between vocational and academic streams. To enhance employability of the students and achieve the objectives of NEP 2020, University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued the National Credit Framework (NCrF), enabling integration of Skill Education into academia. It also enables credit accumulation through diversified domains such as Skill Enhancement Courses, Value Addition Courses, Ability Enhancement Courses alongwith Internships and Projects. The NCrF also has a provision for the accumulation of a maximum of 50% of the total credit required through skill-based courses. These provisions have enabled Higher Educational Institutions to provide relevant knowledge to the students, making them industry ready. Further, UGC has formulated guidelines for the introduction of Apprenticeship Embedded Degree Programmes to be offered by Higher Education Institutions to provide practical exposure during the course of study expected with the aim to enhanced competencies of the graduates and the employment thereof. UGC also introduced “Guidelines for Internship/Research Internship for Under Graduate Students” in February 2024, with an aim to improve employability and develop interest for research. To achieve the objectives of NEP 2020 and ensure availability of industry relevant knowledge to students of technical students, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has taken several steps including:  Model Curriculum in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Space Technology, Electronic Engineering (VLSI Design and Technology), Robotics and Artificial Intelligence etc. Due representation of Industry stakeholders is ensured in the curriculum revision committees.  Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with leading industries and organisations have been signed to facilitate internship, skilling and upskilling of students and faculty members.  Issued model internship guidelines for technical courses. Internship is mandatory component of Model Curriculum issued by AICTE for different courses. These guidelines provide internship in full-time or part-time.  Industry Academia Mobility framework launched by AICTE to facilitate connect between theoretical knowledge and practical application, facilitating collaboration between academia and industry.  In order to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, over 16,000 Institution Innovation Councils (IICs) have been established across the country, engaging more than 1 lakh faculty members and 1.5 lakh students in innovation and entrepreneurial activities.The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with IIT Madras and eminent Industry Partners, have launched the SWAYAM Plus platform on 27th February 2024. The platform offers high-quality learning and certification programs in partnership with leading industry and academic experts to students/learners, helping them reskill, upskill, and become employment- ready. These courses also include domains such as media, communication, and soft skills, aimed at enhancing non-technical competencies to improve employability. The Ministry of Education and IIT Madras have signed more than 85 MoUs with the leading industry partners. As of 3rd March 2026, more than 500 courses in 17 different sectors are available on the platform, and more than 5 lakh learners have enrolled for their skill augmentation. The Ministry of Education also implements the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) to impart on-the-job training and enhance the employability of youth. In the last 5 financial years (FY 2020–21 to 2024–25), the NATS scheme has engaged 12.94 lakh apprentices. For FY 2025-26, over 4.88 lakh apprentices have been engaged. The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, operates the National Career Service (NCS) Portal which is a one-stop solution for providing career related services including jobs from private and government sectors, information on online & offline job fairs, job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, skill/training programmes etc. through a digital platform [www.ncs.gov.in] ***