Context
Employment in India has been a major issue which has been exacerbated by the Pandemic. Various student groups have been agitating against the recruitment by the government.
Relevance
GS-III: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.
Dimensions of the Article
- What does Data say?
- Why the government job scrambling?
- Education and Unemployment
- Way Forward
What does Data say?
- Pre pandemic employment levels as per National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) were 6.1% in 2017-18.
- In December 2019, Unemployment rate was 7.91%.
- January 2022 figures stand at 6.57%.
- Unemployment situation remains dire even after V-Shaped recovery of the economics.
Why the government job scrambling?
- Better societal prestige and job security.
- Pandemic has revealed the fragile nature of private employment.
- However, government jobs are reducing but educated youth is demanding them.
- Applications for middle and lower rung jobs have been made by highly educated individuals.
- This creates an insecurity among the less educated for the similar jobs.
- Private employment has less social security, overwork, long hours of pay and informal nature.
- Rapid privatization is also creating a buzz.
- Steady decline of state regulation of labour-capital relations.
- All this has created a scenario of periodic unemployment and also has made tough for the new entrants in the job market.
Education and Unemployment
- Less expenditure on Education Sector especially Higher Education has resulted in inadequate employment generation.
- There is a shortage of qualified teachers in the Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) though the number of applicants is increasing.
- Requirement of education even for entry level teaching jobs is way too high which widens the gap.
- Even the eligibility for various government jobs and training institutes have been enhanced.
- A number of exams for degree courses like CTET, TET, BTC, UGC-NET, etc. create a never ending exam cycle with new participants every year.
Way Forward
The reason for Unemployment is not just because of less jobs but also overworking of the existing jobs. A tired India and Unemployed India are two sides of the same coin. India needs to invest in its human capital and make sure that education, healthcare, etc. are leveraged for their job creating potential. Apart from the strengthening of government’s capacity of providing jobs, India must aim at making its youth job providers. Skill India, make in India etc. should be augmented at policy level as well as financial.
Source – The Hindu
