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Economics · Ch 12 — Human Capital Formation in India

Higher Education — a Few Takers

12.7.3

Higher Education — a Few Takers

Figure 4.7Higher Education: few takers — two graduates, one female and one male, in cap and gown, each holding a scroll.
Fig. 4.7 — Higher Education: few takers — two graduates, one female and one male, in cap and gown, each holding a scroll.

Drawn by us to help you understand the concept clearly, and verified to make sure it's accurate. For exams, practice from your textbook's own diagram.

Own-drawn recreation of NCERT Fig 4.7 …

India's education system can be pictured as a steep pyramid: a broad base of people at the lower levels, narrowing sharply so that fewer and fewer reach the higher levels of education. In other words, only a small share of students go on to higher education.

An added problem is unemployment among the educated. The level of unemployment is actually highest among educated youth. According to NSSO data for 2011-12, the unemployment rate among young men in rural areas who had studied up to graduation and above was 19 per cent, while their urban counterparts faced a somewhat lower rate of 16 per cent. The most severely affected group was young rural female graduates, of whom nearly 30 per cent were unemployed. By sharp contrast, only about 3 to 6 per cent of youth with only primary-level education were unemployed in both rural and urban areas, which shows the puzzle that more educated youth can face higher unemployment. …