Overeducated and Underemployed: How More Schooling Is Hurting India’s Youth

By – Dr. Kammula Sunil Kumar, Assistant Professor, CSE Department, SRM University-AP

For decades, education in India has symbolized hope. Families invested their savings, students spent years pursuing degrees, and society collectively believed that higher education would naturally lead to stability, dignity, and upward mobility. Yet, recent employment trends reveal a deeply uncomfortable paradox: in modern India, higher education does not always translate into employment.

A recent observation shared by Zerodha highlighted this contradiction sharply: unemployment among illiterate individuals remains relatively low, while unemployment among graduates aged 15–24 approaches nearly 40%. Supporting this concern, the India Employment Report 2024 released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) observed that unemployment among graduates is several times higher than among illiterate individuals. Even more striking, a recent State of Working India report by Azim Premji University noted that nearly two-thirds of unemployed youth in India are graduates.

These numbers challenge one of India’s strongest social beliefs that education alone guarantees economic security.However, the issue is not simply about unemployment. The deeper problem lies in the growing mismatch between education, aspirations, employability, and the realities of a rapidly changing economy.

Several interconnected reasons explain this paradox.

1. Raising Aspirations Along with Qualifications:

Higher education does not merely provide knowledge; it shapes expectations about life itself. A graduate entering the job market is not just seeking income. They aspire for respectable salaries, career growth, social recognition, job security, and a lifestyle that reflects years of educational investment. However, for many families, education is viewed as an escape from financial instability and social limitations. Consequently, graduates often hesitate to accept: low-paying jobs, temporary work, physically demanding labour, or careers unrelated to their qualifications. This creates what may be called an “expectation gap”, a situation where educational aspirations rise faster than the availability of suitable opportunities. In contrast, individuals with lower educational qualifications may enter available work more readily because survival often takes priority over occupational preference.Therefore, the issue is not merely unemployment, but the absence of employment that aligns with the aspirations created by higher education.

2. Producing More Graduates Than Graduate-Level Jobs:

India has significantly expanded access to higher education over the past two decades. Every year, lakhs of students graduate from engineering, management, arts, science, and professional institutions. However, job creation has not expanded proportionately. Several employment studies indicate that while graduate production has increased rapidly, the creation of stable and high-quality white-collar jobs has lagged behind. As a result, competition has intensified, and even highly qualified candidates struggle to secure suitable opportunities. This is especially visible in sectors like engineering, where thousands of graduates compete for a relatively limited number of quality positions.

The consequence is not simply joblessness, but overcrowding of aspirations.

3. Degrees Often Guarantee Qualification, Not Employability

Another uncomfortable reality is that possessing a higher degree does not always mean being industry-ready.Nowadays, many graduates complete their education with strong theoretical knowledge with limited practical exposure, weak communication skills, and little understanding of real-world industrial requirements. The Economic Survey 2023–24 noted that only around half of Indian graduates are considered employable. This highlights a growing disconnect between academic systems and industry expectations.

4. The Economy Is Changing Faster Than Educational Systems

The employment landscape is undergoing rapid transformation due to: automation, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and evolving business models. Traditional white-collar jobs that once absorbed large numbers of graduates are either shrinking or changing significantly. Whereas, today’s economy increasingly rewards: interdisciplinary skills, continuous learning, and innovation. A static degree earned years ago may no longer remain sufficient in a market that evolves every few months.This leaves many young graduates caught between qualification and uncertainty.

5. Social Perception of Success Creates Additional Pressure

In India, education is deeply connected to social prestige. Society often associates success with: engineering, medicine, government employment, or corporate careers. Consequently, millions of students continue entering the same educational streams regardless of changing market realities. On the other hand: vocational careers, skilled trades, entrepreneurship, freelancing, and unconventional professions are often undervalued socially despite offering genuine economic opportunities. This creates excessive pressure on a limited number of “socially acceptable” careers while several emerging sectors remain underexplored.

The way forward:

Addressing this paradox requires changes at multiple levels.

Educational institutions muststrengthen practical learning, encourage internships and research, improve industry collaboration, and prioritize critical thinking over rote learning. Similarly, Industries mustinvest more in training and skill development, collaborate actively with academia, and create pathways for fresh graduates to transition into professional roles.Students also need to focus on continuous upskilling, develop adaptability, and prepare for a rapidly evolving economy rather than relying solely on degrees.

Education remains one of the most powerful instruments of social progress. But in today’s world, a degree alone can no longer guarantee the future it once promised. Unless classrooms evolve alongside industries and aspirations align more realistically with economic opportunities, India risks producing a generation that is academically accomplished, highly ambitious, and yet professionally uncertain.

And perhaps that is the real paradox of modern India, not that its youth are uneducated, but that education itself is changing faster than society is prepared to understand.