JOB CRISIS; MERGING THE GAP BETWEEN SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

Abstract

While the Right to Education Act of 2002 in India guarantees free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years, such education does not necessarily lead to employment. In rural areas, states with poor Gross Domestic Products (GDP) tend to have higher school dropout rates due to the lack of quality education. According to Niti Aayog, the dropout rate in 2020-21 at the secondary level in Bihar (India’s poorest state) was 21.4 percent since school education does not guarantee employment. In fact, 25.5% of youth between the ages 15 - 29 are unemployed-this does not take into consideration the types of jobs taken up by them, such as an unproductive primary sector, thus serving as a research gap. This unproductive work results in lower income for the rural youth, amplifying the issue of poverty. This paper elaborates on the flaws of the current Technical and Vocational Education (TVET) System utilizing a case study and using comparative analysis with countries such as Norway and Germany with successful TVETs.