What Went Wrong with the Educated Unemployed of Sikkim

By Dr. Marchang Reimeingam

Published: Sikkim Express, Sikkim, 30^th March 2010 

Attaining full employment in any economy is a dream. The general unemployment rate is lower when compared to the educated unemployment rate. It is simply because the educated person makes a general impression that investment in education should yield a return in terms of salaried job; seeks or prefers organised, formal, salaried or white collar jobs, specific kind of employment; capability of affording unemployment; and their aspiration are increasing resulting in a serious mismatch between the supply of educated job seekers and the demand for them in the labour market causing to raise unemployment. The educated unemployed are persons seeking or available for work and have obtained an educational level of secondary and above. Education is considered as the means through which knowledge and skills can be developed. It also helps a person to get a job and also to perform the same with a fair degree of competence. It has been regarded as the key factor, which determines the level of prosperity and welfare of the people. Again, Shingi (1988) “treated [education] as a business proposition with all those investing in it wishing returns on it”.

According to the National Sample Survey, the educated unemployment rate (usual status adjusted) for 15 years and above for All India has shown a decline for both males and females in both the areas as a result the overall (persons) rate has declined from 7.5 to 6.5 percent in rural areas and from 7.8 to 7.1 in urban areas from 1993-94 to 2004-05.  But what went wrong to the educated unemployed of Sikkim where the overall educated unemployment rate has considerably increased from 3.2 to 6.8 percent in rural areas in particular and from 4.9 to 6.4 percent in urban areas during the same period. In Sikkim, the educated unemployment problem has hit harder for males in both the areas; it has increased by more than three folds from 1.8 to 6.1 percent in rural areas and by almost two folds from 3.3 to 6.4 percent in urban areas. The nature of education is seemingly too literary, theoretical, lacking aptitude and techniques and largely not job oriented or employable in the present labour market structure which is mostly specialised resulting to the increase of educated unemployed. Of course, in the recent decade or two various job oriented vocational courses have been dramatically introduced across the country including the state of Sikkim. Employability, the question, possibly depends not only to the type of labour supply irrespective of acquired type (theoretical or practical) of education, but on the nature of market structure as well as the level of economic development of the country and the conventional practice which is so called “through connection” in/directly.

In case of females, it follows the pattern of All India that the rate has shown a declined in both the areas. For females, the rate has marginally declined from 8.7 to 8.3 percent in rural areas; however, it has considerably declined by two folds from as high as 12.5 to 6.2 percent in urban areas. It may be explained by the fact that sometime after spells of unemployment the educated unemployed after experiencing greater difficulty in finding work often “obliged to ‘trade down’ and accept second or third best” (Roberts, 1985) job; also it is assume that the educated unemployed are more informative which leads to out migrate in search for job resulting to the declined of educated unemployment rate. Unemployment level continues to be considerably higher for females when compared to males in both the areas for all India as well as for Sikkim in both the years; except that the rate has become marginally lower for females than males in urban Sikkim in 2004-05. Most importantly, unemployment rate differential between males and females has narrowed down in Sikkim over the years. It is not the case for all India.

Interestingly, educated unemployment problem was milder for rural and urban Sikkim in 1993-94 and urban Sikkim in 2004-05 when compared to the corresponding areas of All India. However, in rural areas in the latter period, educated unemployment rate was marginally higher for Sikkim (6.8) than All India (6.5). The prevalence of high unemployment level is because many job seekers’ expectations exceed the emerging realities of the labour market and they prefer to remain unemployed for some time rather than accept a job that they feel is beneath them. This creates the inverse relationship between educated unemployment and educational attainment. Due to above mentioned various reasons the educated experiences the so called “waiting period” situation. The waiting period (and also the growth of educated unemployed) depends on the inverse relationship between the supply of educated persons and the (organised) job availability. On the other hand, the employer tends to strengthen and upgrade “formal educational entry requirements for jobs previously filled by those less educated. Excess educational qualification becomes formalized and may resist downward adjustment” (Todaro, 1991). Blaug, et al (1969) has observed that “there has been widespread and persistent upgrading of minimum hiring standards in India”. At present the base of the educated people is visibly wide as a result there prevail a steep competition among them for the limited opportunities in which the employers attempted to accommodate the more educated for a given job. As a result an overqualified people are demanded leading to the growth of unemployment and increase demand for higher education. The employer’s preference for experienced workers remains the problem for the new entrants into the workforce. In the developing countries like India for “each worsening of the employment situation calls forth an increased demand for [and supply of] more formal education at all levels [primary, secondary or university]” (Todaro, 1991). The government of India is expanding, all over the country including Sikkim, all levels of educational institutions amidst the high prevalence of educated unemployment, which may accommodate some of them in higher studies that in turn is likely to act as a mechanism to control unemployment problem in short-run. Similarly, Marga (1974) mentioned that “educational expansion served to delay the entry of young job-seekers into the labour market by keeping them for increasingly longer periods in the educational cycle” in short-run. The rapid expansion of schooling facilities induces to the rise of educated youth unemployment because “the absorption of the ‘educated’ in productive employment has proven difficult” (Visaria, 1988). Hence, for long-run, the need and urge is to introduce and speed up various means to reduce if not remove educated unemployment problem for lasting economic and social prosperity.

For citation: Marchang Reimeingam, What Went Wrong with the Educated Unemployed of Sikkim, Sikkim Express, Sikkim, 30^th March 2010.