Assam’s twelve state universities have received a giant boost with state Education Minister Dr Ranoj Pegu disclosing on Saturday that the government has earmarked a whopping sum of Rs1,000 crore for development and upgradation of infrastructure. The funds are understood to be coming from the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the Northeastern Region (PM-DevINE) apart from certain schemes of the North Eastern Council. According to Dr Pegu, while four universities will receive Rs 50 crore each, eight others will receive Rs 100 crore each. This is a very significant step. The new universities upgraded from existing colleges suffer from various infrastructure problems, including a shortage of land to expand, inadequate and old (in some cases dilapidated) classrooms and laboratories, crammed hostels, and a lack of safe drinking water and sanitation. Cotton University, derived from the erstwhile Cotton College, on the other hand, suffers from poor condition of hostels, apart from lack of recreational facilities. However, the question can be raised about whether our universities have actually been able to produce graduates who are truly employable, in addition to being socially responsible, given that the government controls the allocation of such funds. In this connection, it is important to look at what the latest data says. According to the 13th edition of the India Skills Report 2026 (published by ETS, Wheebox, and the CII), slightly over half of the graduates produced by the universities in India are considered employable, but a severe disconnect remains between traditional degrees and market demands. One positive aspect that the 2026 report has indicated is the overall employability of Indian graduates has marginally improved from 54.81 per cent in 2024 to 56.35 per cent this year. However, another report, the Mercer-Mettl Graduate Skill Index, presents a more challenging perspective, revealing that the employability rate of Indian graduates is only 42.6 per cent, primarily due to a widespread deficiency in critical non-technical skills. This leaves the country with a paradox where nearly half of the youth graduate without any worthwhile market-ready capabilities, leaving 82 per cent of employers struggling to find skilled talent despite soaring university enrolments. These reports have also identified a few key factors responsible for this worrisome scenario. The primary issue is a significant curriculum mismatch, as rapid technological advancements, especially in AI, data analytics, and automation, outpace the slow updates to university curricula. Moreover, these reports have pointed out that traditional higher education institutions frequently prioritise memorisation over practical, hands-on problem-solving, live projects, and critical soft skills. And then, there is also very limited industry-university integration; only a small minority of universities and institutions have actively embedded industrial internships, practical trainers, or real-world application metrics into everyday coursework.