The paradox of liberal arts education in India – and how to fix it

At the core of liberal arts education lies its social focus: equity, justice, freedom – something most professional education lacks. But here’s a paradox. Liberal arts students face a significant social problem themselves – employability.

According to Statista, the employability among graduates with a bachelor of arts degree across India was only 47.1% in 2024, a decrease from about 49% in 2023.

In fact, a majority of students who enrol for higher education choose arts, science and commerce instead of professional courses like engineering, medicine or law. Of these, the 33.5% students who choose arts programmes are driven perhaps by genuine interest, inability to secure admission to professional programmes or financial constraints. Of course, the systemic imbalance between the demand and supply in educational streams is a matter of policy and economic factors.

Critical thinking

In principle, liberal arts education – primarily social sciences and humanities – resists the instrumental view of learning. It aims to develop citizens who can question societal norms, challenge existing narratives and drive positive change. These disciplines are also critical in tempering the unbridled optimism of science, technology and markets with considerations of fairness. The pursuit of knowledge in liberal arts is not merely an end in itself, it’s a catalyst for civilisational progress.

However, the reality falls short of the ideals. India is deeply stratified along class-caste lines, and while liberal arts education aspires to uplift the marginalised, the outcomes only reinforce existing hierarchies.

For instance, a student from an upper-middle-class family in Delhi or Mumbai who graduates with a degree in sociology is much more likely to secure a well-paying job in a reputed corporation than a low-income student from a small-town college who holds the same qualification. The urban-middle-class student may have access to networks, internships, and mentors that the small-town student cannot even dream of.

Question of quality

Many arts students in India study in underfunded colleges with outdated curricula, traditional paedagogy and limited exposure to progressive ideas. This is the situation in a market that prioritises technical skills and considers information technology, engineering and medicine the gold standards of education.

Is there a way to ensure that these students develop the power to imagine alternatives, the ability to construct or analyse arguments and nurture a disposition for complex problem-solving? These skills can indeed be developed when colleges encourage active discussions, research orientation and field projects that help students sharpen their competencies in the real world.

India’s education system remains deeply divided, with a stark contrast between elite colleges and universities and struggling local institutions. Students need to secure an overall score of 95% or higher to secure admission in top-end public colleges in tier 1 cities while private universities charge exorbitant fees – with fees touching even Rs 10 lakh a year for a BA degree.

Meanwhile local colleges across the country struggle with poor quality education. This is exactly the kind of divide highlighted in social sciences texts. Does this education model that cements these social silos have to be accepted as the norm?

It’s no surprise that one often hears the argument that liberal arts are the exclusive privilege of the leisurely class, and for the middle-class and poor, a sure path to unemployment. There is some merit in the unemployment argument. But the idea that liberal arts are meant only for the dinner table conversations of the wealthy not only delegitimises their significance in higher education but also attempts to strip away the transformative potential of liberal education from those who need it most.

As is evident in the case of wealthy liberal arts students from top-end colleges landing well-paying jobs, the issue is not inherent to the discipline itself. It boils down to three factors: social capital, institutional reputation and the state of the economy and job creation.

Academic ideals, market realities

Irrespective of where one graduates from, the ideals of liberal arts often clash with the realities of the market. Employers prioritise “practical” skills over the nuanced perspectives of a well-read liberal arts graduate.

For instance, a telecom company hiring literature graduates for customer service roles may value communication skills over their critical reading and writing skills. An automotive firm recruiting cultural studies graduates for their public relations positions might value their relationship-building skills over media literacy. It is just that graduates with the “required” social capital can negotiate these realities much easier than those who lack it.

The challenge, then, is not to bridge the gap between the aims of liberal education and market needs. It is about ensuring that all students are equipped to navigate these realities, even while fighting it. It is about reinforcing the idea that practical orientation is not about disregarding inequities but about learning to survive first in order to fight the good fight.

In fact, the narrow definition of “employability” itself should be challenged. It is high time that employers recognised the long-term value that liberal arts graduates, particularly those from smaller towns, could bring to the workforce. These students think differently, reason sharply and possess keen social insights. Most of all, jobs that require exploratory thinking, discernment and a deep understanding of human behaviour – skills cultivated in liberal arts – are less likely to be automated by artificial intelligence in top form.

Anil Mammen is a Professor of Practice at Tata Institute of Social Sciences. Views are personal.