M.R. Jayaram, Chairman of Gokula Education Foundation (GEF) and Chancellor at M.S. Ramaiah University, has expressed concern over the high rate of unemployment among educated youth in India. In his address at the annual student scholarships event for 2023-24, organized by the University Higher Education Trust of VIT, he noted that only about one lakh graduates find employment each year out of the approximately 14 lakh who graduate. This issue, he said, is not just localized to India, but is a worldwide problem as nations struggle to generate sufficient jobs for educated young people.

In order to improve their employability, Jayaram urged students to not limit themselves to classroom learning, but also acquire special skill sets relevant to their chosen fields.

In his address, G. Viswanathan, founder chancellor of VIT, bemoaned the inadequate allocation of funds on education by both central and state governments, which has increased the financial burden on parents. As an example, he highlighted that out of the 40,000 students at VIT, only 800 receive government scholarships.

Adding to this, he compared the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of India to that of advanced countries, mentioning that while the US, Germany, France, the UK and South Korea have significantly higher GER figures, India stands at merely 27 percent. Major Indian states like U.P. and Bihar have particularly low GER stats, reflecting in their lower per capita income compared to southern states.

At the event, scholarships were presented to 957 students for the academic year 2023-24. Since the initiative began over a decade ago, it has benefitted a total of 8,416 students, many of whom are first-generation learners.