Determinants of Private Demand - Linkages with Employment

Employment potential of courses in higher education is an important determinant of private investment in higher education. There is no organised, capsuled information on the types of employment opportunities for college/university graduates completing various courses of study. Even where scanty information is available, it is grossly incomplete in terms of career prospects, earnings and perks. In such a situation, one has to rely on word of mouth information on employment potential and career prospects of courses, look to role models from within the kinship group, neighbourhood or the larger community. There are cells for educational and vocational guidance in Departments of Education in many States of India.

The National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) also has a cell on this subject which brings out career guidance literature. Though they are valuable, they cover a limited ground. As the employment market is dynamic, signifying a state of constant change, the information gets out-dated over a period of time. A peripatetic team of career counselors used to go round schools some time in the past. With five thousand secondary schools and two hundred working days in a year, peripatetic guidance is not a practicable proposition.

Hence, by and large students grope and leap in the dark in so far as investments in higher education are concerned. Further, there is a gestation period of three to five years or more for completion of courses in higher education during which time the investment made in acquiring the education may not match with the anticipated employment benefits. Certain sectors might reach a point of saturation while certain new avenues may open up in some emerging sectors. Availability of systematic, classified, clear, accurate and adequate information regarding job potential of educational courses is conspicuous by its absence particularly in the field of higher education.