An Analysis on Engagement of Youth Population in Kerala

Skilling of youth has a decisive role in the development of nations. When India is fast becoming a global super power and blessed with demographic dividend, imparting necessary skill sets to the youth population emerges as an immediate area of concern for policy makers and development scientists.  The case is not different in the case of Kerala, around one third of the population falls in this category.  

Despite these facts, the employment rate, as per National Sample Survey of India, is 12.6%. The registrants in the Kerala employment exchange are 43 lakhs.  Also, when countries like Korea and Mexico have achieved levels of 96% and 78% respectively in skilling, our people have simply below 20. This most disturbing fact needs to be mull over to expedite the existing pace of skill development in Kerala.

Youth Populace of Kerala

Census 2011 estimated the population of Kerala 33.3 million. Being the objective was to look in to the engagement of youth (15-29) in Kerala, an analysis of the targeted population was vital. Moli, (2007) (Kerala Youth, A demographic Analysis) reported that 27.6% of the population falls in the category of youth (15-29).  The detailed analysis inferred that 32%, 10%, and 58% are in the sub-categories Adolescent (15-19), early-adulthood (20-24), and Adulthood (25-29) respectively.  Based on this categorisation, a revised analysis based on the 2011 Census has been done and presented in the (Table. 1). It is imperative to note that the skilling category of ASAP, Adolescents (15-19) is 3006443.

Table 1: Status of Youth Population in Kerala*

Sl. No.	Category	Strength	Percentage
1	Youth (15-29)	9395136	100
2	Adolescents (15-19)	3006443	32
3	Early- Adulthood (20-24)	939513	10
4	Adulthood (25-29)	5449179	58

*Approximate

Learning Avenues

Even though the task of skilling 93.9 lakh youth population is challenging, government has come up with myriad initiatives to reap benefit from this dividend. Among these, skill infrastructure of Kerala needs to be explained.

It is significant to note that around 4.8 lakhs people pass secondary school ever year, whereas higher secondary has an enrolment capacity of 3.5 lakhs.  Also, the strength of degree colleges in Kerala is around 2 lakhs.  When different technical institutions (ITI and Poly Technique) produce 45, 000 students every year, Vocational education arm of higher secondary of Kerala enrol around 30,000 every year.  

It is estimated that the number students in graduate engineering 40,000, engineering diploma holders 12,000, ITI certificate holders 47, 000 and skill certified candidates through vocational Training providers 5,000 and other sectors account for 1,50,000 (SSDP). Also, the skill infrastructure of Kerala consists of 73 Government ITIs, ™47 SC/ST Development ITIs, ™454 Private ITIs, ™68 VTPs (Vocational Training Providers), 5 Centres of Excellence ITIs under domestic funding, 7 under World Bank aided scheme, and 21 under PPP schemes, 21 ITIs & 2 SCDD ITIs apart from skill development Initiative scheme based on Modular Employable Skills (MES) ™and apprenticeship training is imparted under National Apprenticeship Act (DETK).

A detailed view on the education and skilling infrastructure of Kerala is given below (table 2).

Table 2: Education Infrastructure Kerala

Sl. No.	Trade	Seats*	Sl. No.	Trade	Seats*
1	Engineering	39744	10	Polytechnic	11185
2	Vocational Higher Secondary*	27000	11	Food	1610
3	Higher Secondary*	350000	12	ITI	47000
4	VTP Skill Project	5000	13	Law	400
5	Management	3928	14	Communication	800
6	Nursing	13435	15	Agriculture and Veterinary	480
7	Paramedical	7069	16	BCA	2850
8	Teachers Training*	7870	17	Others (Unorganized)	150000
9	Medical	6153	18	Degree*	200000
				TOTAL	874524

*Approximate

Based on the estimate, total seats available for different courses for adolescent group are 874524. It is evident that a lion – portion of people engaged in education, considering the statistics and literacy rate of Kerala. It is also very heartening to see that a major chunk of courses are skill-based like engineering, paramedical, ITI and polytechnique, and especially different technical courses in skill sectors. However, the poor employability of youth is often a brewing concern.

 (Source: SSDP, 2012, EduCare and Career Directory, The Mathrubhumi Publication, 2015, VHSE, KASE, ASAP, DHSE Websites)

Appendix:

1.       Engineering Seats -

Engineering
Govt	4,947
Aided	1640
NIT	865
Self Financing
Govt	6532
Private	25,760
TOTAL	39744

Source: Commissioner of Entrance Examinations, Decan Chronicle, July 12, 2015 (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150712/nation-education/article/50-cent-seats-vacant-self-financing-engineering-colleges-kerala)

2.       Nursing

Nursing
General Nursing & Midwifery	6755
B.Sc. Nursing	6120
Auxiliary Nurse & Midwife	460
Female Health Supervisor	100
TOTAL	13435

3.      Management

Management
BBA	3228
Hotel Mgt	700
TOTAL	3928

4.      Paramedical

Paramedical
D Pharm	1350
B Pharm	1680
MLT	710
Radiology	435
Ophthalmic	1785
Operation Theatre	276
Cardio Vascular	64
Neuro	30
Dialysis	78
Dental	75
Endoscopic	12
Operating Room	20
Respiratory	4
Blood Bank	40
Pharmacy	510
TOTAL	7069

5.      Teachers Training

Teachers Training
PPTTI	1030
TTI Private (126*30) Govt (102*30)	6840
TOTAL	7870

6.      Medical Degrees

MBBS	2600
BDS	1350
BHMSS	250
BAMS	910
BSc. MLT	230
Physiotherapy	450
Optometry	156
Perfusion	36
Audiology	110
Cardiac	11
Siddha	50
TOTAL	6153

7.      Poly technique

Poly
Trivandrum	1310
Kollam	600
PTA	900
Alppy	540
Kottayam	780
Idukki	760
Ernakulam	950
Thrissur	1530
Palakkad	550
Malappuram	1000
Calicut	485
Kannur	750
Wayanad	390
Kasargod	640
TOTAL	11185

(Source: Educare, 2015, The Mathrubhumi Publications)

8.      ITI (SSDP, DETK)

9.      Other Source: Educare, 2015, The Mathrubhumi Publications

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