BENGALURU: According to Mercer Mettl’s India’s Graduate Skill Index 2025 report, only 42.6% of Indian graduates assessed were employable, and the stronger pockets of readiness are found in some technical domains such as AI and machine learning, said Prof Bhalchandra Mungekar, a well-known economist, educationist and former Rajya Sabha member.
Mungekar was addressing students at the second convocation of Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University in Bengaluru on Monday. He said, “The finding in Mercer Mettl’s report is significant, because it suggests that the problem is not simply whether students possess some technical exposure, but whether higher education is consistently developing broader job-ready and problem-solving capabilities across cohorts.”
Mungekar said, “There are several reasons why many higher education institutions haven’t been able to develop job-ready skills among students. It includes the gap between research production and innovation translation. Though the country has improved, the overall innovation ecosystem still falls short of the scale of its ambitions and population. At the same time, NAAC’s own public statistics show that accreditation coverage has historically remained limited relative to the total size of the higher education system. This matters because innovation rarely grows in environments where basic academic quality, institutional systems, faculty development, and research culture are weak.”
Furthermore, many higher education institutions continue to be shaped by curriculum rigidity, discipline-specific compartmentalisation, teacher-centred instruction and examination-driven evaluation. “The next two to three decades will likely be decisive in determining whether Indian higher education becomes globally relevant or whether it remains trapped between scale and stagnation,” he said.
Mungekar suggested some remedial measures that, if implemented successfully, can boost innovation in educational institutions. “Curriculum innovation must move from information possession to capability formation.
The National Education Policy 2020 has already opened the conceptual space for multidisciplinary education, multiple entry–exit options, and more flexible academic structures for students. Thus giving space for more flexibility and modular education. Lecture-heavy classrooms suppress diverse forms of participation from students, therefore, implement active pedagogies to teach students,” he explained.
Governor and Chancellor Thawarchand Gehlot, Higher Education Minister Dr M C Sudhakar and Vice-Chancellor Prof Vishwanath were among the dignitaries present at the event.
Six students including Meghna Prasheed, Paarvathi J, Gauri Agarwal, Divya U, Neha M and Priyanshu Shekar were awarded with gold medals for their academic achievements in various disciplines including MSc in Economics and MSc in Financial Economics. 17 rank certificates were also awarded to outstanding student performers in addition to giving degree certificates to 171 students.