Focus on higher education

India has set an ambitious target to augment its gross enrolment ratio in higher education to 50 per cent by 2030, a substantial leap from the current 27 per cent. This strategic endeavour, as articulated by the Union Education Minister, is a crucial component of India’s overarching aspiration to transition into a developed economy. The government is committed to enhancing living standards, fortifying the quality of education, ensuring sustainable and affordable transportation, and narrowing economic opportunity disparities. The articulated target set by the Education Minister is eminently feasible, displaying a sagacious emphasis on the imperative facet of skill development for India to realise its ambitious 2047 objective of attaining a developed economy. A stark reality underscores the misalignment of the erstwhile Indian education curriculum with the exigencies of the industrial landscape, serving as the primary culprit for the lamentable unemployability even among the educated youth.
Recent years have witnessed a commendable pivot towards aligning youth skill development with industry benchmarks, a paradigmatic shift exemplified by the transformative National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020. The NEP-2020, a hallmark reform, aims to recalibrate education as a foundational springboard for the youth to catapult into their professional trajectories. Undeniably, higher education assumes a pivotal role as the primary crucible wherein the burgeoning intellects of the youth ardently seek to shape their academic pursuits and future vocations. Higher education stands as a linchpin, necessitating a formidable influx of adept minds to propel India into the vanguard of development. The formidable challenge of sculpting a skilled workforce is a major hurdle, notably hindering the establishment of substantial industries, particularly in the domain of electronics. The global trajectory has decisively shifted from traditional mechanical pursuits to the pervasive realm of electronics. The concerted emphasis on higher education in recent years has catalysed significant strides, particularly evident in the realms of digital transactions and the burgeoning semiconductor sector. The momentum has been inexorably set in motion, necessitating a meticulously orchestrated, incremental impetus to realise the benchmarks delineated in the set targets.