The employability of our graduates from the universities in the state was in the focus again recently during a speech by the Governor of the State at a function in Dimapur. Though it is a very essential concept and widely studied and researched across the world it is a very new concept for the Naga population. The governor is not the first to talk about this problem but a few of the current personalities in the government have touched upon this topic for some time.
A state without any notable industry and with a private sector that are more of cottage industries there never was a need felt for imbibing skills that make a person employable. Moreover with the government sector initially able to accommodate all the educated persons, anyone with a certificate or a degree, it was never even considered important in the state. There was no linkage between the centres of learning and the destination where that learning will lead the pupils that would ultimately make their careers. The blame cannot be given to the centres of learning alone since all the colleges and universities in the state still gather mostly to general courses only. Except for the recent ones, there were negligible vocational institutes in the state unlike the neighbouring state of Meghalaya that gave thrust to job-oriented vocational courses since the eighties. It is reported that in Nagaland most of the vocational courses that were earlier part of the curriculum in the government schools were also slowly discontinued.
However there is a change in the scenario since the employability factor is no doubt required in the government sector too, from the IAS officers to the peon, in the government offices and not only in the private sector. Employability never stops and it is a continuing process for an employee to stay competent. Passing out of exams conducted by various boards and commissions does not always imply that a person is employable. The pace of development that the state is experiencing along with the rest of the country and the world has generated the need for employable skills even in the government sector. The workshops conducted by the Administrative Training Institute (ATI) Kohima for the staffs of various departments in the government sector is noteworthy. It might not have stood out as a big news in the newspapers but the ATI regularly conducts workshops for basic noting and drafting for clerical staffs, basic courtesy and etiquettes for drivers, communication skills for officers etc. In the private sector these would be the primary skills required for a person to even qualify for the final series of interviews of a job.
This current disconnect between the universities and the employability of its graduates will continue for some time unless a big game changer with a long term goal is initiated by the government. It will take some time to undo the decades of erroneous belief and direction that the State and the people took.
