NITI Aayog Report Reveals the Scale of Education System Failure (a) India’s median age: 28 yrs (b) 92% of 14 cr graduates with jobs unfit for them (c) 9 cr youth: no work, no study (d) 16 cr students: No skills; teaching is outdated, misdirected, disconnected. Completely Directionless Earlier this week, NITI Aayog published a 100-page report titled “Reimagining Skilling for Viksit Bharat @ 2047. Highlights: a. India is one of the youngest nations globally with a median age of 28 yrs. Nearly 1 cr working age youth are getting added every year. b. With 14 cr graduates and 50 lakh new graduates getting added every year, only 8.25% are employed in roles fit for their qualifications. (Report cites Economic Survey.) Majority are unemployed or casual labourers. c. 12 cr students in Grade 6 onwards in school and 4.4 cr students pursuing degrees have little to no exposure to skills or training. The academic curricula has a "fundamental disconnect" with labour market demands. d. Over 2 cr are currently enrolled in BA, BCom, BSc, which have “weak job linkages.” Many pursue these degrees so that they can be eligible to apply to government jobs. e. Between Nov 2024 and July 2025, 1.86 cr applications were received just for 55,000 govt posts (Chances of selection: 1 out of 338). f. 9 cr Indian youth (15 to 29 yrs) are in NEET category: Not in Education, Not in Employment, Not in Training. g. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 envisaged that 50% of students would have exposure to vocational subjects by 2025, and 100% of students by 2030. NEP specified dedicated hours for vocational skill exposure from Grade 6. h. Reality Check: “Nascent” (negligible) implementation till 2026, according to NITI Aayog. Students have little exposure to General Employability and Entrepreneurship Skills (GEES). i. Delivery Gaps: NITI Aayog points out that in higher education, faculty often has no industry know-how. For example, commerce teachers are delivering digital marketing content, resulting in superficial exposure. j. Both school and college education remain classroom-bound. Practical training, hands-on projects, internships, apprenticeships, business-readiness modules, mentorship, or local incubation support are largely absent. k. Even in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), only 8.5% of trainees took up apprenticeships in 2018. (No data available after 2018). Over 13 lakh ITI seats remain vacant every year because the ecosystem is broken. l. Launched in Oct 2024, the Prime Minister’s Internship Scheme (PMIS) offers 1 crore youth internship opportunities in India’s top 500 companies from 2025 to 2030. Status: Year: 2025 (Pilot Round 1) Unique Applicants: 1.81 lakh Offers Issued: 82,000 Offers Accepted: 28,000 Joined Internship: 8,700 Dropouts (Pilot Round 1 & 2) Joined: 16,060 Dropped Out: 7,094 Completed: 3,417 Final pilot phase (Round 3) is ongoing from April to Dec 2026. Number of candidates who joined: 10,000. Reasons for Poor Response: (1) Stipend of ₹9,000 p.m. for a 6-month internship. An unemployed person may spend it on transport and food only. (2) Many candidates report “internships” are concentrated in sales, marketing, and support functions. Global Benchmarks NITI Aayog highlights international best practices for training and skilling. (Note: The report avoids any mention of China, which has become the gold standard for vocational training). Indonesia: With the world’s 4th largest population, Indonesia offers 50% vocational curriculum after Grade 9; deep competency specialization; mandatory internships; industry-recognized certifications. Germany: From Grade 6, students are assigned to 1 out of 3 schools of their choice: (1) Academic focus (2) Vocational Focus (3) Sports. Higher Secondary Onwards: Dual Apprenticeship System with industry. Australia: Secondary school onwards: Multi-year apprenticeships with the industry that let students work, train, and study simultaneously. Hiring incentives and wage subsidies offered to employers. Singapore: Launched in 2015, SkillsFuture is a national program for “lifetime upgrading of skills” to align all citizens with evolving labour market needs. It includes subsidized, employer-linked training. ENDQUOTE “I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, but they are learning machines.” – Charlie Munger, USC Law School Speech, 2007 @arabicatrader