Some institutions are referred to as ‘greats’ in the world of higher education and professional desires. Among these are the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), having graduates synonymous with the future innovators and captains of industry.

However, within this rosy picture, a more sobering reality has surfaced: reports have shown that 36% of recent graduates from the prestigious IIT Bombay are either unemployed or underemployed even after two years of graduating, mirroring larger problems related to India’s job market.

As the narrative unfolds within the boundaries of India, it throws a poignant reflection on the neighboring country, Pakistan, where a similar dynamic unfolds against an economic flux and an evolved landscape of employment.

Here, the struggle saga of IIT Bombay becomes not only a national issue but a story whose message resonates across the world; it enlightens shared experiences of people and poses reflection on whether higher education is really reaching its effectiveness to the requirements of the ever-flowing global economy?

Surprisingly, graduate unemployment is nearly three times higher than the unemployment rate in Pakistan (PIDE, 2023), becoming a serious challenge to the education narrative:

There are four major reasons for this trend; first, a high disparity between the education offered and the needs of the economy. Second, weak university-industry linkage translates to the fact that the graduating disciplines are not what is required by the industry or the country.

Third, the growing number of job seekers, coincides with a shrinking economy and macroeconomic imbalances, which have led to business shutdowns which hinder both expansion and new investments. According to the World Bank, Pakistan is at 63rd position out of 163 countries in the University-Industry linkages index.

Pakistan is even lagging behind India (26th rank) and Sri Lanka (53rd). It displays quite an alarming state of our graduate unemployment.

Historically, at Independence, there were only 2 universities in the country with approximately 600 students. In 1998-99, the number increased to 26. 1999-2000 is the time when the universities touched the count of 27. And from 1995 to 1999, in just four years, the Government issued charters to about 20 universities. Out of these 20, 16 were in the private sector, while 4 were public sector universities.

In sum, as of 2000, we had 59 universities. In 2022-2023, the number rose to 247 total HEIs in the country. Punjab leads with 88 HEIs, followed by Sindh with 71. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 43 HEIs, while the Federal area contains 25.

Balochistan hosts 11 institutions, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has 7, and Gilgit-Baltistan has the fewest with just 2 HEIs (HEC Annual Report, 2022-2023). This distribution reflects the disproportionate allocation of educational resources across the country’s regions.

The rapid proliferation of universities since the Higher Education Commission (HEC) took over from the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2002 represents an........

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