India’s Education Scam: How Overpaid Professors and Glorified Universities Fuel Unemployment

How Overpaid Professors and Glorified Universities Fuel Unemployment

India’s education system is a house of cards, propped up by overpaid professors, overhyped deemed universities, and outdated accreditations that reward past glory over present impact. The result? A staggering 25 million unemployed youth, betrayed by a system that values credentials over critical thinking. Parents and students who pour lakhs into these institutions are not investing—they’re being fleeced like sheep, lured by the false promise of prestige. It’s time to strip deemed university status and accreditations from colleges that fail to prepare students for real-world challenges and transform education into a problem-solving engine. This article exposes the rot in India’s education system with hard evidence and demands a revolution in how we value and fund learning.

Overpaid Professors: The Root of Unemployment

Indian professors, especially in elite institutions like IITs and private deemed universities, often earn salaries ranging from ₹1.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh per month, according to a 2024 Economic Times report. Yet, these hefty paychecks have not produced employable graduates. A 2023 study by Aspiring Minds revealed that 80% of engineering graduates in India are unemployable in their core fields, lacking practical skills or the ability to think critically. Why? Many professors rely on outdated syllabi, rote learning, and theoretical lectures, failing to equip students for a dynamic job market.

For instance, a 2024 X post by a Bengaluru-based recruiter went viral after describing how an IIT graduate couldn’t solve a basic coding problem for a real-world application, despite scoring 95% in exams. This isn’t an anomaly—it’s a symptom of a system where professors face no accountability for student outcomes. In contrast, countries like Finland tie educator incentives to student performance and industry relevance, achieving a 5% youth unemployment rate, per a 2023 OECD report. India must stop rewarding professors for credentials or seniority and start linking their pay to measurable results, like graduates’ employability or contributions to local problems.

Deemed Universities: A Prestige Trap

The “deemed university” label, granted by the UGC, is sold as a badge of excellence but often masks mediocrity. A 2024 investigation by The Hindu found that 40 of India’s 130 deemed universities faced allegations of academic fraud, financial mismanagement, or outdated curricula, yet retained their status due to political lobbying or hefty donations. These institutions charge fees as high as ₹15-25 lakh for a four-year degree, preying on parents’ aspirations while delivering substandard education.

Consider a well-known deemed university in Maharashtra, which markets itself as a “global leader” but was exposed in 2023 for using 20-year-old lab equipment and a curriculum irrelevant to modern industries like AI or renewable energy. Its placement rate? A dismal 35%, per campus data. Meanwhile, a state-run college in Tamil Nadu, with fees under ₹1 lakh, trained students in sustainable textile technologies, achieving an 80% placement rate in local industries. Stripping deemed status from underperforming universities and letting states evaluate institutions based on local impact—like water conservation in drought-hit regions—would end this scam and redirect resources to deserving colleges.

Accreditations: Rewarding Past Glory, Not Present Value

Accreditation bodies like NAAC and NBA perpetuate the problem by grading colleges on infrastructure, faculty degrees, or historical performance, not their ability to prepare students for today’s economy. A 2024 India Today report noted that 65% of NAAC-accredited colleges with A or A+ ratings had placement rates below 50%. These institutions, often private colleges with sprawling campuses, charge ₹5-10 lakh annually, banking on their accreditations to attract students. Yet, their graduates struggle in a job market that demands skills like data analysis or green technology.

Take a private engineering college in Karnataka, lauded for its NAAC A+ rating and past alumni who secured H-1B visas in the 2000s. In 2024, only 25% of its graduates found jobs, with many lacking skills for emerging sectors like cybersecurity, according to placement records. In contrast, a lesser-known polytechnic in Andhra Pradesh, unburdened by flashy accreditations, focused on training students in solar energy maintenance, achieving a 90% placement rate in local renewable energy firms. Accreditations must be revoked from colleges resting on laurels and reassigned based on tangible outcomes, such as solutions to local issues like urban flooding or rural healthcare access.

The Sheep Mentality: Falling for the Hype

Parents and students are complicit in this cycle, blindly chasing prestigious institutions without questioning their value. A 2024 Careers360 survey found that 75% of parents prioritized “reputed” colleges over those with strong placement records or practical curricula, spending lakhs on degrees that often lead nowhere. This herd mentality fuels unemployment: India’s youth unemployment rate hit 23% in 2024, per CMIE data, largely because graduates lack skills for India’s needs, like sustainable agriculture or digital infrastructure.

Singapore offers a stark contrast, aligning education with economic demands and achieving a 4% youth unemployment rate, per a 2023 World Bank report. Indian families must stop being sheep, seduced by glossy brochures and hollow accreditations. They should demand transparency—placement data, skill relevance, and societal impact—before investing in education.

A Radical Fix: State-Led, Problem-Solving Education

To end this crisis, India must overhaul its education system:

1. Link Professor Pay to Outcomes: Salaries should reflect graduates’ employability, industry partnerships, or solutions to local problems, not just PhDs or years served.
2. Strip Deemed Status: The UGC must revoke deemed university status from institutions failing to deliver, with states evaluating them based on contributions to regional challenges, like air pollution in Delhi or irrigation in Telangana.
3. Scrap Outdated Accreditations: NAAC and NBA should grade colleges on current impact—jobs created, patents filed, community projects—not infrastructure or past achievements.
4. Decentralize Education: Move education to the State List, empowering states to design curricula and fund colleges that solve local problems, like waste management in Mumbai or healthcare access in Bihar.

India’s education system is a betrayal of its youth, with overpaid professors, glorified deemed universities, and meaningless accreditations producing unemployable graduates. Only a fool would keep funding this broken model, and only sheep fall for the hype of prestige over performance. The 25 million unemployed youth are a wake-up call: stop rewarding past glory and start valuing problem-solving. By stripping deemed status, scrapping outdated accreditations, and empowering states to prioritize local impact, India can transform colleges into engines of progress. The choice is clear—reform now, or condemn another generation to unemployment.