Youth unemployment in the village

The survey was conducted by Yen Kalvi, translated as “My Education”, an initiative under Auroville’s Life Education Centre (LEC). Driven by Devi Namasivayam, LEC’s coordinator, the initiative offers career guidance and information sessions for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, so they can make informed choices about college courses and careers.

Devi highlights the rising aspirations of youths in the villages around Auroville, many of whom prefer to do college degrees instead of vocational training, even though there are more vocational jobs available. “A college degree is a fancy aspiration now,” says Devi, “even for parents, who motivate their children towards higher education. And youths want a different career from their parents, and they think that going to college is the only way to get the sort of job they want.”

Of the 98 students surveyed (aged 16-23), 100 percent of students were interested in college education. Yet, as the first generation of college-goers in their families (only three per cent of surveyed students had parents with college degrees), they faced challenges in gaining adequate guidance around courses and career choices. And this is where the Yen Kalvi initiative aims to step in and help.

Devi was prompted to start Yen Kalvi in 2015 after two young women from disadvantaged backgrounds approached her for advice. The first woman had completed a course in lab technology, but had decided soon after starting the course that she would not work in the field because she could not bear the chemical smells. “Her grandmother was sponsoring her, so she finished the diploma,” says Devi, “but it was clear that she only did the course because someone told her to do it. No one had properly guided her.” Another student approached Devi for help with the online application to study medicine at JIPMER government hospital in Pondicherry. “The mother wanted to educate her daughter, but when I looked at her scores, I could see she wouldn’t get into JIPMER, and it was too late for her to apply to other universities.” LEC supported the “very motivated” student to do the entrance exam, so that she could gain valuable experience, and she went on to study radiology later. “If she had applied earlier, she would have gotten into a good programme,” says Devi. “So these experiences led me to investigate the situation with these first-generation college-goers in the surrounding villages.”

Popular choices

The survey aimed to capture these college-goers’ goals and challenges, in order to see what kind of help is needed. It confirmed Devi’s sense that students tend to default to the most common career choices. 34 percent of students wanted to study commerce, a popular career choice throughout Tamil Nadu, followed by engineering (27 per cent including electrical, computer, mechanical engineering), and nursing/pharmacy (14 per cent). “Everybody thinks a commerce degree will get them a job immediately,” says Devi. “And to some extent it’s true, as accountants are needed in Auroville and Pondy, but it’s not always a guarantee of a job.” Studying to be a Tamil teacher is a popular option amongst women, while very few students study politics, administration or law. “The choices are limited because they don’t receive much information,” says Devi. “I met a group of girls who were able to mention other fields, like archaeology and gynecology, but they didn’t really know about what those jobs involved or how to have a career in those fields. But the fact they knew a bit more was great!”

Why unemployment

Nationally, youth unemployment has been linked to the proliferation of new colleges in the rural areas, the rising aspirations of youths, and the increased number of college graduates, leading to an over-supply in fields such as engineering. The Yen Kalvi survey’s finding of 73 percent graduate unemployment, although done with a limited number of subjects, reflects the national trend.

Devi highlights the local characteristics and reasons behind unemployment. The first is that village youths are at a disadvantage due to the kind of education they receive when competing with city graduates from Chennai or Bangalore to get jobs in fields such as engineering.. “The city students are more educated and receive more support in terms of tuition, preparatory courses and parental support than the village students,” she says. “Village students go to colleges in the hinterland where the infrastructure is quite poor. The education they receive is more theoretical and it doesn’t really prepare them for work.” College students are generally required to complete a practical project in their final year of college, but Devi points out that the colleges do not help students to make their projects useful for the industry so it’s a wasted opportunity. “While the project is an opportunity for students to gain experience in the real world, the professors don’t give the project a lot of significance or encourage them to apply knowledge. So the students go about the project very theoretically.”

Another reason for unemployment is that prospective employers expect graduates to have some work experience. 25 percent of the graduates in the survey noted that their lack of work experience was the foremost reason for being unemployed. “It’s a chicken and egg problem,” says Devi. “Which comes first? If they had a job, they’d gain experience. So, when I meet a group of students, I tell them about internships, which they generally haven’t heard of. Some people don’t want to volunteer – they just want a job immediately, which is not realistic.”

Devi also points to the way in which college graduates from villages are at a disadvantage in interviews in terms of social skills. “These days, all interviews are in English, and their English is limited so they’re not confident enough to communicate their skills. The survey revealed they know they lack communication skills, and want to strengthen this in order to get jobs.” Devi concedes that many Auroville employers understand the local context and challenges, and are more prepared than outside employers to focus on graduates’ strengths and to give them opportunities to learn on the job. But she points out that Auroville can only absorb a limited number of graduates into paid employment.

Auroville schools different

The importance of cultivating qualities of confidence and curiosity is vital according to Devi, pointing to the difference between village students who have been educated in Auroville schools and those in non-Auroville schools. “The government education system is not oriented towards developing the person. It is focused on preparing students to sit exams and on the school getting a good reputation for having a high percentage of students who passed. But the outreach schools of Auroville are different with their experiential learning. Udavi students have more curiosity and confidence than the ones who come from government schools. The bright students can really go far with support.” However, Udavi school ends at 10th standard, after which students generally switch to mainstream schools that focus on passing exams, which draws them into “another mode”, according to Devi. “They get sucked into the system of examinations. They adapt to the new system, and they’re not the same children with a lot of curiosity anymore.” Devi cites an example of a computer science graduate who could not find a job. “She was sponsored by someone in Auroville and she had a computer at home, which is a rare thing. But she did not know the specifications of her own computer. Her education did not encourage her to be curious to know more than what she had been taught. Her degree was so theoretical, she was not able to apply for it. This is one reason why many graduates find it hard to find jobs.”

Devi highlights the value of other life experiences in building confidence, pointing to a few college students who work part-time delivering pizzas, earning about Rs3000 per month. “Those guys are more confident because they’re meeting customers, and are able to talk without shyness, and their social skills are very different from other students.”

Another challenge in getting employment is the family restrictions placed on young women’s mobility. “Parents don’t let them go to Chennai or elsewhere,” says Devi, “And sometimes the girls choose to stay close to their parents because they are not confident. One girl was offered a job in Cuddalore, a 45 minute bus trip, but she thought it was a long way. And it’s not easy to find jobs in Pondy or the local area. So a lot of them end up doing jobs not related to their fields. There are lots of engineering graduates who are now working in Auroville in totally different fields.”

In the final survey report, Devi argues that the high unemployment rate in the Auroville bioregion will worsen without appropriate intervention. “We need to see what programmes we need to avert unemployment before it becomes huge. Auroville could open certain volunteer positions, if there’s a willingness to experiment. The students could contribute to Auroville and grow. There are nice bright kids who can aspire to good careers as scientists or civil service officers. They have the capacity to do it. It’s a matter of giving them the knowledge, support and guidance for them to get there.”

The report titled Research on Education, Skills, Employment, and Employability among Youth in the Auroville Bioregion is published by SAIIER. A shorter version of the report is available at Auroville’s wiki page: https://tinyurl.com/y3fx5s5p