Even as employability has emerged as a stated priority across Indian higher education, outcomes remain uneven on the ground. Nearly 75 per cent of Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are still not industry-ready, according to a new TeamLease Edtech report titled From Degree Factories to Employability Hubs.
The report reveals that less than 10 per cent of institutions report full curriculum alignment with industry, while only 16.67 per cent of HEIs achieve placement rates of 76 to 100 per cent within six months of graduation.
Structural gaps remain stark, with just 23 per cent of institutions engaging industry professionals in their programmes and over 60 per cent not having explored embedding industry-embedded certifications into their curriculum.
Curriculum relevance has emerged as the single largest constraint. Only 8.6 per cent of institutions report full industry alignment across programmes, while 16.9 per cent say they are partially aligned in select courses. In contrast, more than half (51.01 per cent) acknowledge they are not aligned at all, and 19.1 per cent say alignment efforts are still under implementation – leaving a majority of institutions without effective industry linkage at scale.
The findings indicate that despite a growing emphasis on employability, execution remains fragmented. Structural readiness is further weakened by limited alumni engagement, with just 5.44 per cent of institutions reporting highly engaged alumni networks, and 15.09 per cent describing them as fairly engaged. For most institutions, alumni relationships remain minimal or absent, limiting access to informal hiring channels, mentorship opportunities, and industry referrals.
Experiential learning – widely regarded as critical to job readiness – continues to lack structure and standardisation. Internships are integrated across all programmes in only 9.4 per cent of institutions, and within select programmes in 17.4 per cent, taking overall adoption to 26.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, only 9.68 per cent of institutions use live industry projects, while 37.8 per cent lack internship integration entirely, indicating that a significant share of students graduate with limited real-world exposure.
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Industry participation within classrooms also remains limited. Only 7.56 per cent of institutions integrate Professors of Practice across multiple programmes, while 15.46 per cent restrict such engagement to a few departments, leaving most HEIs without sustained exposure to current industry practices.
Commenting on the findings, Shantanu Rooj, Founder and CEO, TeamLease Edtech, said, “What stands out in this report is the clear gap between aspiration and execution. While employability remains a central objective, a significant number of institutions are yet to fully align their curricula with industry needs, build strong employer partnerships, or integrate recognised industry certifications into their programmes. This reveals a system that is structurally underprepared to deliver the outcomes it aims to achieve.”
He added that employability must be treated as a system design priority rather than an add-on. “If employability is truly the goal, curriculum co-creation with industry, mandatory internships, applied learning through live projects, and formal employer partnerships must become fundamental to how institutions function and are evaluated—not optional,” Rooj said.
The study is based on 1,071 responses across public, private, and deemed universities, as well as autonomous and affiliated colleges across India. Data was collected digitally through voluntary and anonymous participation using a structured, close-ended survey. The analysis examined curriculum alignment, internships, digital and professional skills, industry engagement, alumni involvement, placement outcomes, and future priorities, using percentage-based insights to surface system-level trends rather than ranking institutions or establishing causality.
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