New Delhi, July 8: China’s sweeping overhaul of its higher education system, which saw more than 12,000 undergraduate degree programmes scrapped and around 10,000 new courses introduced between 2021 and 2025, is reigniting debate over whether India’s universities are keeping pace with rapidly changing labour market demands driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
The restructuring, which affected over 30% of China’s undergraduate programmes, replaced courses considered outdated with new offerings in AI, robotics, semiconductors, quantum technologies, advanced manufacturing and other strategic sectors as Beijing sought to align higher education with its industrial ambitions and address rising youth unemployment.
The reforms followed a widening mismatch between graduate skills and employer requirements. China’s urban unemployment rate among 16-24-year-olds excluding students stood at 16.9% in March even as technology companies reported shortages of workers with specialised AI and advanced manufacturing skills.
Unlike programme closures in the United States, which are often driven by financial constraints, China’s revamp was a centrally directed policy intervention aimed at strengthening the country’s long-term economic competitiveness. Humanities, arts, foreign languages and some management disciplines accounted for a large share of the courses discontinued.
The developments have drawn attention in India, where employability concerns persist despite the country’s demographic advantage. According to the India Skills Report, only 56% of graduates are considered employable. The India Graduate Skill Index, which assessed more than one million learners across 2,700 campuses, found employability in AI and machine-learning roles had risen by 46%, while demand for graduates in conventional HR, digital marketing and routine administrative functions was declining.
With over four crore students enrolled across more than 50,000 colleges, around 55-58% of them in arts, humanities and commerce streams, education experts say India faces the challenge of adapting curricula to an AI-driven economy without abandoning traditional disciplines.
The debate has also revived calls to update the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to better reflect the impact of generative AI on higher education and employment. While the Union Budget has earmarked Rs 500 crore for a Centre of Excellence in AI for Education under the IndiaAI Mission, analysts argue that isolated initiatives will need to be backed by broader curriculum reforms and greater integration of AI and digital skills across disciplines.
China’s higher education overhaul underscores how governments are increasingly treating universities as instruments of industrial policy, a trend that could intensify pressure on India’s education system to produce graduates equipped for emerging technologies and future jobs.
