Produce graduates who are more employable: Pratibha Patil

President Pratibha Patil today asked educational institutions to reorient their teaching methods towards skill-based education so that the graduates they produce become more employable.

"There is some mismatch between the skills that our graduates possess and talents that are needed in the country, leading to a low employability. This needs to be corrected," she said while addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of Delhi's Sri Venkateswara College.

Educational institutions, she said, needed to upgrade training methods and curriculum keeping in mind the massive requirement in the country for a skilled workforce like IT, tourism, media, infrastructure and health care.

She called for a broad-based approach to education which incorporates the teaching of humanities, basic sciences, commerce, languages and medicine.

India is a "young nation" but it would be able to reap this demographic dividend only if the younger generation has the education and skills to meet the economic and intellectual requirements, she said.

Academic institutions would need to seek the suggestions of the industry and business to frame a syllabus which is "contemporary and relevant".

This was part of their duty to prepare students who had the confidence to face future, Patil said.

The president felicitated former principals and toppers of the college which is managed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam. She was in turn presented with an 'angavastaram' and 'prasadam' from the famed Balaji Temple in Tirupati.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister K Rosaiah who was to preside over the function could not make it "due to unavoidable circumstances."