Sumita Kale: The other labour issue

Any SWOT analysis of India's international competitiveness invariably mentions the "presence of a large pool of skilled manpower" as a formidable strength. Numbers are thrown in to support the argument "" India has one of the largest higher educational systems in the world with 16,885 colleges and 99.54 lakh students, increasing 5 per cent every year. The rise in the number of engineering and management colleges in the last decade, thanks to the involvement of the private sector, all point to a bright future. This rosy picture, however, overlooks the numerous inherent problems of regional disparities, low enrolment ratios and so on. The inability of the government to evolve a long-term national vision on education consistent with economic growth has led to cracks in the system. These cracks act as constraints to progress once the economy grows and begins to make demands of its own, as is happening currently in the case of the manufacturing sector.

There is talk again of the rebirth of manufacturing in India as the sector grows at 9-10 per cent and firms make their presence felt on the global arena. But attrition, a problem hitherto of software and BPO companies, has now begun to hit manufacturing. A M Naik, L&T Chairman-MD mentions this in last month's company newsletter, "The short supply of talent to the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors could jeopardise our ability to achieve a 12-14 per cent growth rate in manufacturing, and to build world class infrastructure for our country." The paradox of persistent unemployment and a large number of graduates co-existing with short supply of talent needs to be tackled.

The government's failure to respond to the changing demands thrown up by liberalisation in the past decade led to the boom of private colleges in the country. While some may see this as a triumph of the market, this "privatisation" has led to skewed growth "" regional imbalances were accentuated with four southern states and Maharashtra accounting for 60 per cent of the professional institutions; considerable resources were devoted to new engineering and management colleges with basic sciences and other disciplines getting step-motherly treatment; within engineering, private colleges concentrated on four disciplines of "computer science", "information technology", "electrical and electronics", and "electronics and communication" "" there were no takers for other equally vital subjects of civil, mechanical, chemical engineering. Given that most education trusts are run by politicians in these states, it is not surprising that the lop-sided growth has increased along with its new dimensions!

The government has taken a back seat in steering higher education a long time ago but industry cannot afford to stay aloof any longer. Pune, a manufacturing hub and education centre, has felt the lacunae acutely "" many companies have begun in-house training of technicians, engineers and so on, and there is a move to start an engineering sciences school on the Pune University campus. Eventually, industry and universities have to work together "" students enter higher education centres to improve their job prospects and this primary aim has to be respected by providers of higher education.

There is little attempt on the part of the UGC to revamp the syllabi and courses across the various disciplines to create well-trained, motivated students. Until a co-ordinated effort of the Central, state governments and industry throws up a new structure to match the current realities, the famed "large pool of skilled manpower" may just prove to be a mirage.

The writer is an advisor with Indicus Analytics