Higher Order Cognitive Abilities, Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, Staff Structured Syllabus, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, creative thinking, course objectives, Deliberate practice Future Skills

1. I
A Textbook on
Higher Order Cognitive Abilities
(Revised Bloom's Taxonomy
And
Staff Structured Syllabus)
Jupiter Publications Consortium
22/102, Second Street, Venkatesa Nagar
Virugambakkam, Chennai 600 092. T.N, India.
E-Mail: director@jpc.in.net|
Phone: 97909 11374
Dr.N.Asokan Ph.D.

2. II
"A Textbook on
Higher Order Cognitive Abilities"
Author: Dr. N. Asokan M.Sc., M.E., Ph. D
First Published, October2020
Price Rs. 300/-
Pages
© Jupiter Publications Consortium 2020
Revision: I / First Print
Jupiter Publications Consortium
No.22/102, Second Street, Virugambakkam
Chennai – 600 092.
Phone: +91- 97909 11374 | 044 - 23765181
E-mail: director@jpc.in.net
Imprint: Magestic Technology Solutions, Pvt. Ltd, Chennai
Tamil Nadu, India
©All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission of the
Author and Publisher.
Cover Design:@ Jupiter Publications Consortium

3. III
This Book
is
Dedicated to
My beloved
Wife

4. IV
No people can rise above the level of its
Teachers – Marcus Tullius Cicero (43 BC)
The globalization of the world economy, The New Education Policy
2020 and higher education are driving profound changes in the
education system. Worldwide adaptation of Outcome-Based Education
framework and enhanced focus on higher-order learning and
professional skills necessitates a paradigm shift in traditional practices
of curriculum design, education delivery and assessment. In recent
years, worldwide sweeping reforms are being undertaken to bringabout
essential changes in education in terms of what to teach (content) and
how to teach (knowledge delivery) and how to assess (student
learning).
It is hard to imagine a teacher or school leader who is not aware of the
importance of teaching higher-order thinking skills to prepare young
men and women to live in the 21st Century. However, the extent to
which higher-order thinking skills are taught and assessed continues to
be an area of debate, with many teachers and employers expressing
concern that young people' cannot think'.
"Higher-order" cognitive tasks typically include reasoning, decision
making, problem-solving, and thinking. In each of these tasks, the
PREFACE

5. V
information that has been previously received, processed, and stored
by basic cognitive processes gets used, combined, reformatted, or
manipulated by higher-order cognitive functions.
I believe this book assist and answer four most important organizing
questions of Teachers, who traditionally have struggled with issues and
concerns about education, teaching and learning.
1. What is essential for students to learn in the limited classroom
time available?
2. How does one plan and deliver instruction that will result in high
levels of learning for many students?
3. How does one select or design assessment instruments and
procedures that provide accurate information about how well
students are learning?
4. How does one ensure that objectives, instruction, and
assessment are consistent with one another?
This book is written to provide a standard way of thinking about, and a
shared vocabulary for talking about teaching that enhances
communication among teachers themselves and teachers, teacher
educators, curriculum coordinators, assessment specialists,
educationist, educational administrators, and academic leaders.
October 2020 Dr. N.Asokan

6. VI
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I owe a debt of gratitude to many people for their hand in
helping this work come to life.
I would like to thank my Research Guide and Supervisor Dr.
D.Brahadeeswaran, who has been a great motivator and such a
wonderful human being. His instinct of helping people in learning for
upgrading their knowledge was a gift of Almighty. His unflinching trust,
confidence in my capabilities and timely words of appreciation have
made me expedite this publication.
I thank Dr.S.Mohankumar, for his years of support, challenge,
and professionalism, and for his extraordinary ability to come up with
publishing ideas that have never been tried before and make them
work.
I thank T.V.Selvi, my life partner and best friend, for inspiring
me, for being my most severe critic, and for her unyielding belief in me.
After twenty-six years, which I considered to be an excellent start to an
enduring marriage, I still feel lucky every single day.
Finally, I would like to thank Prof. S. Magesh, Managing Editor,
Jupiter Publications Consortium, Chennai, for his incredible work in
editing and publishing this book.

7. VII
FOREWORD
Becoming a Highly Effective Teacher
I am delighted to write the forward for the first edition of the
book titled "Higher Order Cognitive Abilities" by Dr. N. Asokan
M.Sc., M.E., Ph.D. My association with him spans over sixteen years
since the time I have become his Research Supervisor and Guide.
Dr.N. Asokan is an institution builder, having 25 years of experience in
the development of sound Educational Institutions. He has
demonstrated excellence in determining & formulating policies,
executing & implementing strategies and providing overall direction to
the growth of the educational institutions. His academic delivery and
academic audit are highly commendable.
Asokan's book seems to address the issues and concerns of
every teacher is undergoing inside and outside the classroom daily on
delivering the subject content to fulfil its objectives.
It focuses on what the teacher truly cares about-qualities that
contribute to the students' overall success- and how they ultimately
lead to an inspiring teacher.
Every teacher must reinvent themselves every few years.
Reading this book- with the importance of higher-order cognitive
abilities and meaningful learning, seven different cognitive levels of
Ohm's law (example) and sample questions of each level, awareness

8. VIII
gap for employability, deliberate practice to master the skills, preparing
the structured staff syllabus using specific instructional objectives –
have given the new insights to teachers in their continuing journey of
life long self-learning.
While Asokan has an incredible track record as an educational
leader, in his heart, he remains both a student of human behaviour as
well as a teacher who loves to share his insights with those around
him.I feel sure that the reader can benefit a great deal from Asokan's
work to enhance the teaching competency towards developing
educational leadership.
I wish Dr. N. Asokan for great success and happy journey in all
the academic career as well!
Prof. Dr. D. Brahadeeswaran
Professor Emeritus
Academic Staff College
VIT University
Vellore-632014, India
Former Professor and Head,
Department of Policy Planning & Educational Research
National Institute of Technical Teachers' Training and
Research(NITTTR)
(Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India), Chennai. India

9. IX
S.no Content Page
No
Part 1
Background
Two important Educational Goals
Importance of Higher Order Thinking Abilities:
Revised Bloom's Taxonomy
Three Types of Learning
Problem Solving and Critical Thinking:
Creative thinking:
Seven different difficulties level (Cognitive Process
Dimension) of Ohm's Law
To solve a mathematical word problem, five different
thinking levels are required
To write an Essay, four different thinking levels are
required
List of Course Objectives / Competencies and
associated General Objectives / Problem Solving /
Critical thinking / Creative thinking for each of the
Course Objectives / Competencies in Mechanical &
Computer Science Engineering Program.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

10. X
Educational Experiences:
Assessing higher-order abilities
Rubrics:
Open Book Examination
Samples questions for Revised Blooms Taxonomy
levels:
Exercise 1. Choose a Course taught by you and
construct at least three Learning Activities OR
Questions testing Higher Order Abilities.
Exercise 2. Direction: Classify each of the following
objectives / HOT questions into the appropriate
category of (i) Knowledge dimension (ii) Cognitive
dimension and write the name of specific category in
the appropriate cell.
Part 2
Staff Structured Syllabus
Issues and Concerns of Teachers
Definition of Instructional Objectives
Need for Instructional Objectives
Advantages of Specific Instructional Objectives
General Objectives and Specific Objectives
Teaching and Testing at The Minimum Level

11. XI
General Rules for Stating Specific Instructional
Objectives
Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
Sample Staff Structured Syllabus:
Sample Course Plan
Sample Question Paper setting
Exercise on Classification of Objectives
As per Revised Bloom's Taxonomy
Conclusions:
Part 3
Skills Gap:
Skills Mismatch
Awareness Gap
Future Skills
Practice:
Purposeful practice
Deliberate practice

12. XII
Background:
Education, the world over, is going through a revolution, the
transformations are extraordinary in scope and diversity. The chronic
neglect of undergraduate education is morally untenable and
economically unsupportable and is a detriment to society
Workplaces are transforming themselves rapidly in the 21st century.
The number of jobs that require routine skills – both physical and
cognitive – are reducing at an alarming pace. Technologies like
Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Cloud Computing,
etc., are eliminating the highly skilled jobs in many organizations.
According to a report by the World Economic Forum, 65% of the
students entering primary and secondary schools and colleges now will
be employed in jobs that do not exist today. Employment is shifting
from being a lifetime commitment to being a taxi-cab relationship –
intimate, engaging, intense and short term.
A great useful book 'Building Universities that Matter' by Pankaj
Chandra; suggests the first purpose of education is to create good
citizens; an educated society usually has the higher rule of law,
diversity tolerance, and peace. The second purpose of education is to
prepare youth for livelihoods and incomes. The third purpose is to help
find one's life-long passion for learning and one is meaning in that life.
Higher education institutions must reflect on how successful they have

13. XIII
been in the first and third – they are tough to measure - but on the
second, employers are clear that the system often does not work for
them.
National Education Policy 2020 chaired by the Kasturirangan
Committee, starts with the following lines 'Higher education is a critical
contributor to sustainable livelihoods and socio-economic development
of the nation'. The recommendations point towards the fact that the
future of work, powered by digitalization, automation, machine learning
and artificial intelligence, shall require professionals with creative and
multi-disciplinary skills – which necessitates that the current higher
education system is re-imagined, revamped and re-energized to fulfil
the aspirations of the students.
The International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first
Century chaired by Jacques Delors, submitted to UNESCO in 1996.
The Report argued that education throughout life was based on four
pillars:
i) Learning to know - acquiring a body of knowledge and
learning how to learn, to benefit from the opportunity’s
education provides throughout life.
ii) ii) Learning to do - acquiring not only an occupational skill
but also the competence to deal with many situations and

14. XIV
work in teams, and a package of skills that enables one to
deal with the various challenges of working life.
iii) iii) Learning to live together - developing an understanding
of other people and an appreciation of interdependence in a
spirit of respect for the values of pluralism, mutual
understanding, and peace; and
iv) iv) Learning to be - developing one's personality and being
able to act with autonomy, judgement and personal
responsibility while ensuring that education does not
disregard any aspect of the potential of a person: memory,
reasoning, aesthetic sense, physical capacities and
communication skills.
Such an articulation of a broad view of education encompassing the
holistic development of students with special emphasis on the
development of the creative potential and unleash the potential of each
individual, in all its richness and complexity, has grown increasingly
popular in recent year. The recent reports from UNESCO, the OECD,
the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the Brookings
Institution have highlighted the broad consensus that has developed.
Students must develop not only cognitive skills - both 'foundational
skills' of literacy and numeracy, lower-order cognitive skills and 'higher-
order' cognitive skills such as critical thinking, creative thinking and
problem-solving skills - but also social and emotional skills, also
referred to as 'soft skills', including cultural awareness and empathy,
perseverance and grit, teamwork and leadership, among others. The

15. XV
process by which children and adults acquire these competencies is
also referred to as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL). Based on the
developments that have taken place in the world of cognitive science,
there is now deep engagement with the idea that all learners must
acquire these social and emotional competencies and that all learners
should become more academically, socially and emotionally competent.
The direction of the global education development agenda is reflected
in the sustainable development goal 4 (SDG4) of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. SDG4 seeks to "ensure inclusive and
equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities
for all" by 2030. Five of the seven targets of SDG4 focus on outcome-
based quality education (Higher Order Thinking Abilities).
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) have
shown positive learning outcomes. More explicitly, the outcomes here
include, among other things, increased critical thinking abilities,
creative thinking abilities, higher order thinking and deeper learning,
mastery of content, problem-solving, teamwork and communication
skills besides general engagement and enjoyment of learning.
Globalization and the demands of a knowledge economy and a
knowledge society call for an emphasis on the need for acquisition of
new skills by learners regularly, for them to 'learn how to learn' and
become lifelong learners. The globalization of the world economy, The
New Education Policy 2020 and higher education are driving profound
changes in the education system, and enhanced focus on higher-order

16. XVI
learning and professional skills necessitate a paradigm shift in
traditional practices of curriculum design, education delivery and
assessment.
In recent years, worldwide sweeping reforms are being undertaken to
bring about essential changes in education in terms of 'what to teach',
the curriculum content as per the stakeholder's expectations, 'how to
teach', the delivery of curriculum content in terms of learners point of
view rather than teachers point of view and 'how to assess', the
students learning on intended learning objectives.
Though some Indian universities and colleges have started adopting
Higher Order Thinking Abilities framework for their programs, very little
attention is being given curriculum formation stages, delivering the
content and connecting examination questions/ assessment tools. The
absence of proper mapping between curricula, teaching learning
process, and assessment tools lead to an inaccurate and unreliable
measurement of attainment of learning objectives of Higher Order
Thinking Abilities by the students.
Learning in higher education means it involves the development of
analytical and other intellectual skills, the ability to deconstruct and
evaluate given knowledge critically, and the creativity to make new
connections and syntheses. It also means to acquire practical skills,

17. XVII
explore, inquire, seek solutions to complex problems, and learn to work
in teams and more.
Two findings from research in cognitive science point to the critical role
of context in learning and thinking.
1. The nature of the cognitive process depends on the subject
matter to which it is applied. For example, learning to plan
solutions to mathematics problem is different from learning to
plan the composition of literary essays. Consequently,
experience in planning in mathematics does not necessarily
help a student learn to plan essay compositions.
2. The nature of a process depends on the authenticity of the
task to which it is applied. For example, learning to generate
writing plans (without writing an essay) is different from learning
to generate plans within the context of producing an essay.

18. XVIII
The curriculum should clearly define, delivering the content to ensure.
Connecting examination questions/ assessment tools should test
Transfer of Knowledge viz. ability to apply knowledge in familiar and
unfamiliar situations, solve complex problems logically and scientifically
with evidence, analyzing how elements fit or function within a structure,
evaluate concerning criteria and standards and unusual design
products with an emphasis on originality or uniqueness.
Courses are the building blocks of a program. The learning
environments the teachers create, activities, and learning experience,
teaching strategies, learning activities, assessments and resources
should all be designed and organized to assist students in achieving
the ability to store the knowledge in the long term memory and develop
the ability to transfer of knowledge to the real-life and professional life
situations, whenever it is demanded to solve the problems.
General Objectives give useful guidance at the program level and
course level for the curriculum design, delivery, and assessment of
student learning. They are vvery general statements, which describe in
implicit terms the overall aims of the whole teaching-learning process.
They are not explicit. General objectives are stated in broad term to
encompass a class or domain of student performance. However, they
represent relatively high-level generic goals that are not directly
measurable. Real observability and measurability of the general
objectives at the program level and course level is very difficult.

19. XIX
To connect high-level general objectives with course content, course
learning objectives, learning outcomes and assessment, there is a
necessity to write down the 'specific instructional objectives' to bring
further clarity and specificity to the general objectives.
Specific instructional objectives for promoting retention are reasonably
easy to construct; teachers have more difficulty in formulating, teaching,
and assessing objectives aimed at promoting transfer.
The difference between everyday first order thinking, and higher-order
thinking is TREMENDOUS. We all have this essential predictive ability,
but most people do not spend much time cultivating it. To do so is to
engage in higher-order thinking.
Someone who is good at higher-order thinking can:
 Reduce complex information by using appropriate mental
models,
 Think backwards and forwards several steps to anticipate
outcomes or reverse-engineer other ideas,
 Combine different ideas into a synthesis, and innovate
 See the big picture and (system thinking) think from a system's
standpoint,

20. XX
Higher-order thinking is the ability to take a combination of related
ideas or components (that interact together) and imagine what the
result would be if you did X or Y.

21. XXI
Revised Bloom's Taxonomy
A group of cognitive psychologists, curriculum theorists and
instructional researchers, and testing and assessment specialists
published in 2001 a revision of Bloom's Taxonomy with the title A
Taxonomy for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment. This title
draws attention away from the somewhat static notion of "educational
objectives" (in Bloom's original title) and points to a more dynamic
conception of classification.
While each category contained subcategories, all lying along a
continuum from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, the
taxonomy is popularly remembered according to the six main
categories.
The authors of the revised taxonomy, Anderson and Krathwohl,
underscore this dynamism, using verbs and gerunds to label their
categories and subcategories (rather than the nouns of the original
taxonomy). These "action words" describe the cognitive processes by
which thinkers encounter and work with knowledge.
Conscious efforts to map the curriculum and assessment to these
levels can help the programs to aim for higher-level abilities which go
beyond remembering or Understanding, and require application,
analysis, Evaluation or creation.

22. XXII
Revised Bloom's taxonomy in the cognitive domain includes a variety
of thinking, knowledge, and application of knowledge. It is a popular
framework in education to structure the assessment as it characterizes
complexity and higher-order abilities.
Definitions:
Knowledge: "Historically shared knowledge" that defines the subject
matter of a particular discipline. It is not static; Changes are made as
new ideas, and evidence are accepted by the scholarly community.
The term Knowledge to reflect our belief that disciplines are continually
changing and evolving in terms of the knowledge that shares a
consensus of acceptance within the discipline. Two types of knowledge,
one is so far constant, means no researcher has challenged. For
example, Ohm's law, Newton's law of gravitation etc., another type of
knowledge is continually changing, where the researchers are
continually challenging the ancient knowledge and creating new
knowledge. For example, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud computing etc.,
Teachers must continually unlearn and relearn wherever and whenever
knowledge is continually changing.
Cognitive Process: Professionals wanted to transfer knowledge,
which is the second educational goal. In between knowing the
knowledge and applying the knowledge, there is a process called
Cognitive, i.e., Thinking. Without thinking, knowledge cannot be
transferred to the given situation to solve the problem.

23. XXIII
Cognitive means are paying attention to relevant incoming information;
undivided attention is the most and essential requirement for thinking.
Mentally organizing incoming information into a coherent
representation and mentally integrating incoming information with
existing knowledge is essential for thinking.
Taxonomy for teaching and learning can be represented in two
dimensions, namely Knowledge dimension and Cognitive Process
dimension.

24. XXIV
Reasoning: A student is asked to offer a reason for a given event.
Why does air enter a bicycle tire pump when you pull up on the handle?
The answer, it is forced in because the air pressure is less inside the
pump than outside, involves finding a principle that accounts for a
given event.
Troubleshooting: A student is asked to diagnose what could have
gone wrong in a malfunctioning system. Suppose you pull up and press
down on the handle of a bicycle tire pump several times, but no air
comes out. What is wrong? A student must find an explanation for a
symptom. "There is a hole in the cylinder" or "A valve is stuck in the
open position".
Redesigning: A student is asked to change the system to accomplish
some goal. How could you improve a bicycle tire pump so that it would
be more efficient? A student must imagine altering one or more of the
components in the system. "Apply lubricant between the piston and the
cylinder."
Predicting: A student is asked to change in one part of a system will
affect a change in another part of a system. What would happen if you
increased the diameter of the cylinder in a bicycle tire pump? Student
"operate" the mental model of the pump to see that the amount of air
moving through the pump could be increased by increasing the
diameter of the cylinder.

25. XXV
Creative thinking:
Create involves putting elements together to form a coherent or
functional whole. Students make a new product by mentally
reorganizing some elements or parts into a pattern or structure does
not present before. The processes involved in Create are generally
coordinated with the student's previous learning experiences. Create a
call for unique products that all students can and will do.
The student must draw upon elements from many sources and put
them together into a novel structure or pattern relative to his or her
prior knowledge, results in a new product or construction of an original
product, that is, something can be observed, and that is more than the
beginning's materials. It requires aspects of the different cognitive
process categories to some extent. Create may or may not include
originality or uniqueness.
Creative Process:
The creative process can be broken into three phases:
1. Problem Representation: in which a student attempts to
understand the task and generate possible solutions
2. Solution Planning: in which a student examines the possibilities
and devices a workable plan
3. Solution Execution: in which a student successfully carries out
the plan.

26. XXVI
4. Five different thinking levels are required
to solve a mathematical word problem,
Interpreting To understand each sentence in the problem
Recalling To retrieve the relevant Factual Knowledge needed to
solve the problem
Organizing To build a coherent representation of the key
information in the problem (Conceptual Knowledge)
Planning To devise a solution plan
Producing To carry out the plan (Procedural Knowledge)

27. XXVII
Creative Process & Critical Thinking: Modern tool usage: Create,
select, and apply appropriate techniques, resources, and modern
engineering and IT tools including prediction and modelling to complex
engineering activities with an understanding of the limitations.
Course Objectives /
Competencies
General Objectives / Higher Order
Thinking Abilities
5.1 Demonstrate the
ability to identify/create
modern
engineering tools,
techniques
and resources
5.1.1 Identify modern engineering tools such
as computer-aided drafting, modelling and
analysis, techniques, and resources for
engineering activities
5.1.2 Create/adapt/modify/extend tools and
techniques to solve engineering problems
5.2 Demonstrate an
ability to select and
apply discipline-specific
tools, techniques, and
resources
5.2.1 Identify the strengths and limitations of
tools for (i) acquiring information, (ii)
modelling and simulating (iii) monitoring
system performance, and (iv) creating
engineering designs.
5.2.2 Demonstrate proficiency in using
discipline-specific tools
5.3 Demonstrate an
ability to evaluate the
suitability and
limitations of tools used
to solve an engineering
problem
5.3.1 Discuss limitations and validate tools,
techniques, and resources
5.3.2 Verify the credibility of results from tool
use regarding the accuracy and limitations,
and the assumptions inherent in their use.

28. XXVIII
Part 2
Staff Structured Syllabus Model
Science Technology Engineering:
Science: Knowledge ascertained by observation and experiment,
critically tested, systemized, and brought under general Principles.
SCIENCE at one end, concerned with Concepts, Theories, Proofs and
Explanations.
Technology: The Practice, Description and Terminology of any or all of
applied sciences of Commercial Value passing through’ the technology,
tangible processes, products, and results reaching ENGINNERING,
concerned about Design, Costs, Productivity, Regulation and Patenting.
The gap between science, technology and engineering is filled by
Creative and Innovative efforts of Scientists, Engineers and
Entrepreneurs.
Learning in Higher Education involves
 development of analytical and other intellectual skills,
 the ability to critically deconstruct and evaluate given
knowledge, and
the creativity to make new connections and syntheses.

29. XXIX
 to acquire practical skills,
 explore, inquire, seek solutions to complex problems,
learn to work in teams and more.
All these by and large assume direct human engagement – not just
teacher-student interaction, but also peer interactions, including
informal ones.
Learning often happens through osmosis in social settings.
Definition: Staff Structured Syllabus means converting the given
subject syllabus into a set of specific instructional objectives (Learning
Objectives) by reading the syllabus in between lines, breadth and
depth to decide what is essential to be discussed in every class with
limited availability of time, based on Bloom's Taxonomy.
Staff Structured Syllabus objectives:
To acquire a body of knowledge & master the content
To develop creative, critical thinking & problem-solving abilities
To develop higher-order thinking abilities
To learn deeper learning
To create a new system that is aligned with the aspirational goals of
21st-century education

30. XXX
To transform and reinvigorate the education system to respond to the
requirements of fast-changing, knowledge-based societies
To deal with many situations with the various challenges of working life
Remember the Issues and Concerns of Teachers to answer,

31. XXXI
1. What is essential for students to learn in the limited classroom
time available?
2. How does one plan and deliver instruction that will result in high
levels of learning for many students?
3. How does one select or design assessment instruments and
procedures that provide accurate information about how well
students are learning?
4. How does one ensure that objectives, instruction, and
assessment are consistent with one another?
Answers to the above four organizing questions are
1. The specific instructional objectives are the important learning
objectives to be discussed in the class with limited time
available.
2. The Course plan helps a teacher to plan and how to deliver the
specific instructional objectives. (57 periods ELECTRON
DEVICES AND CIRCUITS paper and 16 periods for BUSINESS
ENVIRONMENT paper).
3. When a teacher wants to assess the students' mastery of
intended learning objectives, the representative sample from
the same specific instructional objectives detailed in the sample
for staff structured syllabus will be used directly.

32. XXXII
4. When the same specific instructional objectives used as
learning objectives, discussed in the class and used to assess,
so they are consistent with one another.

33. XXXIII
Skills Mismatch
ONE of the most heard platitudes about the labour market in India is
that a severe “skills mismatch characterises it”. Moreover, this, in turn,
is presented as the chief problem of the labour market and the leading
cause of the high rates of open unemployment among the youth and
the persistently low remuneration for those who are forced to remain in
informal activities. This approach is summarized neatly in the official
website of the National Skills Development Council of the Government
of India: “In rapidly growing economies like India with a vast and ever-
increasing population, the problem is two-fold. On the one hand, there
is a severe paucity of highly trained, quality labour, while on the other;
large sections of the population possess little or no job skills.”
Three kinds of skill gaps have been identified as necessary in the
Indian labour market. The first is that of “overeducation” when persons
with tertiary education (degrees, diplomas and/or some sort of
professional training) are hired for jobs that do not require such
qualifications. A now-classic example is a post of signalman in the
Indian Railways. This job effectively requires only education up to
Class V but is hugely sought after by graduates (often with B.Tech and
MBA degrees) because it promises a regular salary with permanent
employment, and is therefore rationed out among such overqualified
aspirants. This is not because these people have not been trained or
are not skilled, but because the relative remuneration over the life cycle

34. XXXIV
even in such low-skilled occupations is deemed to be better than that in
many higher-skilled jobs and because there are not enough skilled jobs
to meet the demands of all the aspirants. Ultimately, this is a mismatch
created by insufficiency of job openings for more skilled jobs and is,
therefore, a failure of the much-glorified market mechanism at the
macro level and in specific sectors.
The second skills mismatch relates to the well-known situation where
people who have been provided technical education (say, in
engineering) end up in occupations that do not require those skills: the
phenomenon of young people with civil engineering degrees choosing
higher-paid jobs in marketing, or doctors sitting for the Indian
Administrative Services examinations to join the elite bureaucracy, and
so on. Once again, this is because market signals generate these
perverse incentives by making some professions significantly more
lucrative or socially valorised. This then causes people with such
professional or technical education (costly also to society when this
training has been publicly provided) to choose activities that effectively
waste those expensively acquired skills.
The third kind of skills mismatch is the “quality gap” when the skills that
workers are supposed to possess according to their qualifications are
found to be lacking by their employers. This, too, is quite evident in
many places and activities. Surveys of employers, especially those in
the corporate sector, regularly reveal that most of them are not

35. XXXV
confident that existing educational institutions will generate the talents
and skills they require in entry-level workers. This is not about a lack of
training per se; instead, it is a comment on the nature of the training,
which comes not just from specific and dedicated “training institutes”
but more generally from institutions of higher education.
So now one has a better understanding of the nature of the skills
mismatch in India. It turns out that this is a result of three interlinked
factors: not enough skilled jobs; perverse market signals and incentives
causing people to shift to jobs that do not require the skills they were
trained in; and low quality higher education generating poor
employability. These are not problems that can be solved with more
training, mainly if the training inadvertently replicates these problems.
Given this context, it is no longer just an opportunity for India but also
an obligation for us to support countries around the world who look up
to the rich talent that India is bestowed with. Our entire focus should be
on what we can do to become the skills powerhouse for India and the
world! Just like Intel promoted “Intel Inside” we have an opportunity to
promote “India Inside”.