Hyderabad: India produces millions of graduates each year, yet the country continues to grapple with an employability crisis. Experts warn that a large proportion of degree-holders remain unemployed, revealing a stark disconnect between what universities offer and what the job market actually demands.At the national conference on ‘India@2047 – The Role of Higher Education’, academics and policymakers on Friday emphasised that artificial intelligence (AI) could help bridge this gap. “AI is one of the biggest disruptors of our time, and the key question is: how are we preparing our students for an AI-dominated world?” said Sekar Viswanathan, vice-president of Vellore Institute of Technology. He highlighted two critical challenges: faculty readiness and institutional adoption.

Viswanathan added that AI can also assist in redesigning pedagogy itself. “Classrooms today are no longer homogeneous. AI can enable personalised learning, helping teachers cater to different learning levels within the same class. We can use AI to develop unique teaching modules that remain relevant and reflective of today’s world.”

However, beyond technology lies a deeper issue, he pointed out. “The average student checks their phone every two minutes. Yet, we still expect them to sit through 50-minute lectures. If we don’t reimagine teaching, we risk becoming dinosaurs, outdated and irrelevant,” he explained.

The challenge, however, is not confined to pedagogy. MR Jayaram, president of the Education Promotion Society for India (EPSI), said, “Nearly 70% of India’s higher education institutions are privately run. Every year, around 14 lakh students graduate, but only 1.4 lakh secure placements. That means 90% of our youth remain unemployed.”

Jayaram noted that India currently has 26 crore school students and 5 crore already in higher education, with millions more soon to enter the system. “In many engineering colleges, the student–teacher ratio is 1:30, whereas the ideal is 1:15. We don’t just need more teachers, we need trained teachers. And new-age technologies like AI can help us bridge this issue.”