The air is abuzz with opinions hinting at despair as well as plans of action expressed in various circles portraying the country’s scenario of human resources quantitatively and qualitatively with words and figures that has set many thinking, the rest befuddled. While the successive governments are yet to lay a clear road map for the education sector, with clarity on correcting its shortcomings, particularly the issue of unemployability of the educated mass, bugling year after year, the spotlight has been turned on raising the skills level of youth coming out of institutions of learning in different streams, engineering in particular. Private managements of the institutions, in a closed circuit of sorts, seem to be comfortably placed given their alumni getting well-paid jobs in industrial establishments, business world, administration and so on. However, their share in the land’s educated mass has remained at a level that should prompt the top brass in the government to go back to the board room as it were, specially to set the house in order.

According to recently disclosed facts and figures, India’s students leaving the country’s shores seeking admission in institutions of learning in different countries abroad are highest in number globally, notwithstanding the exorbitant fees and travel costs. For good or bad reasons, a substantial proportion of them prefer not to return to their motherland. This raises many questions begging for an answer.

The first question: Why are the graduates returning to the country with a degree certificate from virtually any foreign land rated far above their counterparts with a degree certificate from the land’s institutions, particularly those in government management? The second question: Which is that skill-set acquired in the course of learning abroad perceived as abysmally missing in indigenously trained youth, barring exceptions ? The third question: Does the ethos of India’s graduates trained abroad towards serving the society of their homeland pass scrutiny? The fourth question: Granting that all is not well with the country’s human resources, where to begin the journey of factoring its workforce?

The observation by a London-based Indian faculty of a renowned college, published in an article by the don, saying that Indian Universities are seen today to be serving every conceivable purpose except the one that they were created for: the cultivation of the intellect has its serious implications. In short, the problem is not India’s human resources but it is the flock called politicians calling the shots, resulting in the youth engaged in unrewarding activities.