Only one in four colleges in India meet industry requirements: Report

Just 8.6 per cent of them are fully aligned with industry; fewer than 20 per cent institutions report high placement rates.

Nearly three out of four higher education institutions (HEIs) in India are still not aligned with industry requirements, highlighting a deep disconnect between academic learning and employability, according to a report.

At a time when the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 has placed strong emphasis on skills, industry readiness, and experiential learning, the ground reality remains far from what is expected. The report shows that over 51 per cent of institutions remain completely unaligned, while only 8.6 per cent report full alignment across all programmes, underlining the scale of the gap.

It adds that 16.9 per cent of institutions are partially aligned, and 19.1 per cent are only in the process of implementing changes, a majority continue to lag behind in integrating industry needs into their curriculum.

The report, ‘From Degree Factories to Employability Hubs’, has been released by TeamLease EdTech. The findings are based on responses from 1,071 stakeholders, including senior faculty members, university leaders, and academic administrators across public, private, and deemed universities, as well as affiliated colleges.

Placements remain uneven

The misalignment with industry needs is reflected sharply in placement data.

High placement outcomes remain rare, with only 16.67 per cent of institutions reporting placement rates between 76 and 100 per cent within six months of graduation. At the other end, nearly 29 per cent of institutions place less than a quarter of their students, pointing to stark disparities in graduate outcomes.

Internships growing, but not universal

While internships are no longer fringe initiatives, access remains inconsistent across institutions.

Only about 37.8 per cent of HEIs offer internships across all programmes, while others restrict them to select courses or treat them as optional.

The report notes that although experiential learning is gaining ground, it is yet to become a standardised part of academic design.

Industry integration still limited in classrooms

A key concern flagged by the report is the limited involvement of industry professionals in teaching.

Only 23 per cent of institutions have engaged industry experts in training students, and even among these, most implementations are restricted to specific departments rather than being institution-wide.

This suggests that real-world exposure remains fragmented, rather than embedded into the curriculum.

Soft skills and employability training uneven

Despite widespread recognition of their importance, soft skills training is not consistently integrated.

Only 36 per cent of institutions have included soft skills in their curriculum, with many relying on short-term workshops or occasional interventions instead of continuous programmes.

This gap is significant, given that employers frequently cite communication, problem-solving, and adaptability as key hiring criteria.

Real-world learning remains scarce

Applied learning, too, is yet to scale. Only 25 per cent of institutions report using live industry projects frequently, with many still relying on occasional exposure instead of sustained, hands-on learning models.

The report also flags limited integration of industry-recognised certifications into academic programmes.

More than 60 per cent of institutions have not introduced such certifications in their core curriculum, while around a quarter offer them only as optional add-ons, indicating that adoption remains surface-level.

At the same time, institutional partnerships with employers and alumni networks remain underdeveloped, limiting opportunities for mentorship, real-world exposure, and placements, the report adds.