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MUMBAI: Most youngsters in urban India place a high premium on education and believe that it opens windows of opportunity in life, but end up with low-paid jobs in the informal sector. This yawning skill gap is one of the biggest problems plaguing the country's youth, says a new report.
The State of the Urban Youth-India 2013 report released by UN-Habitat and IRIS Knowledge Foundation in Mumbai on Sunday includes a three-city survey of 15- to 32-year-olds. Nearly half the youngsters surveyed, the report says, thought quality education was the single most important factor in achieving a prosperous life, with 83% of them reposing faith in economic growth for job creation.
At the same time though, a majority felt that Indian cities did little to support them.
Despite legal frameworks such as the Right To Education Act, 82% of the youths surveyed believed that cities did not provide affordable opportunities for primary education. And the opportunities that were made available were not equitably distributed; many voiced discrimination based on religion.
An estimated 433 million of India's urban population belongs to the 15-34 age group. This figure is expected to rise to 464 million by 2026.
The report says that the youth's belief in education as a ticket to better life did not always reflect in ground reality. Government data showed a significant degree of underemployment among the youth. More than 85% of them were working in the informal sector with low pay and little security, according to the National Sample Survey Organisation's 66th round conducted in 2009-10.
"The availability of employment and access to services is not commensurate to the number of people demanding them. Young people are advised to pursue education towards white-collar jobs, but a large portion of real job creation is in the informal sector. The youth are neither prepared for it, nor consider it aspirational," says Poornima Dore in the UN report, adding that the "aspiration-reality mismatch" needs to be addressed.
"The UN report underscores that our education is largely theoretical and needs to be geared towards developing skills that help people get jobs. Also, the job market needs to be tweaked keeping in mind the skills available," says Leni Chaudhari, programme head of the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation.
Chaudhari says the government needs to do a lot more than just setting up the National Skill Development Board; "often youngsters are not even aware of such government initiatives".
The report recommends that the country set up more vocational educational streams at school level. It says a crucial need exists for updating academic syllabi in keeping with the demands of industry and job realities.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-07/india/42793216_1_informal-sector-job-creation-primary-education
The State of the Urban Youth-India 2013 report released by UN-Habitat and IRIS Knowledge Foundation in Mumbai on Sunday includes a three-city survey of 15- to 32-year-olds. Nearly half the youngsters surveyed, the report says, thought quality education was the single most important factor in achieving a prosperous life, with 83% of them reposing faith in economic growth for job creation.
At the same time though, a majority felt that Indian cities did little to support them.
Despite legal frameworks such as the Right To Education Act, 82% of the youths surveyed believed that cities did not provide affordable opportunities for primary education. And the opportunities that were made available were not equitably distributed; many voiced discrimination based on religion.
An estimated 433 million of India's urban population belongs to the 15-34 age group. This figure is expected to rise to 464 million by 2026.
The report says that the youth's belief in education as a ticket to better life did not always reflect in ground reality. Government data showed a significant degree of underemployment among the youth. More than 85% of them were working in the informal sector with low pay and little security, according to the National Sample Survey Organisation's 66th round conducted in 2009-10.
"The availability of employment and access to services is not commensurate to the number of people demanding them. Young people are advised to pursue education towards white-collar jobs, but a large portion of real job creation is in the informal sector. The youth are neither prepared for it, nor consider it aspirational," says Poornima Dore in the UN report, adding that the "aspiration-reality mismatch" needs to be addressed.
"The UN report underscores that our education is largely theoretical and needs to be geared towards developing skills that help people get jobs. Also, the job market needs to be tweaked keeping in mind the skills available," says Leni Chaudhari, programme head of the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation.
Chaudhari says the government needs to do a lot more than just setting up the National Skill Development Board; "often youngsters are not even aware of such government initiatives".
The report recommends that the country set up more vocational educational streams at school level. It says a crucial need exists for updating academic syllabi in keeping with the demands of industry and job realities.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-10-07/india/42793216_1_informal-sector-job-creation-primary-education
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