As India races to become the world's third-largest economy, a viral debate exposes a harsh truth: BA and BCom degrees, chosen by over 50% of graduates, are acting like an "education scam" stifling national progress. Popular educator Karan Jindal's recent Study IQ IAS session slams these humanities streams for low employability and wasted potential, urging a pivot to STEM like China did. With youth unemployment soaring amid AI and green tech booms, why does this matter now? In 2026, as India eyes superpowers status, this choice defines our global edge.
The BA BCom Trap: Convenience Over Contribution
India produces millions of BA BCom grads yearly—easy admissions, low cutoffs, colonial hangover from UPSC prep. But employability? Dismal. Only basic jobs await, often in services, skipping manufacturing. Jindal highlights: Society pressures "graduate kar lo, shaadi ho jayegi," pushing kids to humanities colleges where 50% marks suffice, unlike STEM's brutal entrances.
Compare costs: BA BCom costs ₹300/year in government colleges; BTech jumps to ₹2 lakh, MBBS crores with donations. Yet ROI? STEM grads face 42% employability, with just 3% engineers landing core jobs above ₹70,000/month. Growth in engineering jobs? Stagnant at 1% since 2022. No wonder families opt for the "safe" BA BCom scam.
China’s STEM Mastery: A 100-Year Lesson
Graphs from 1910-2010 tell the tale. India stuck at <40% STEM graduates; China pivoted to 60%+, fueling its manufacturing hub status and fivefold economy size. Post-independence, China prioritized primary education (100% enrollment by 1950s), then quality secondary, vocational laws in 1986-96, and lured 1 million overseas talents back.
Result? China now produces 77,000 STEM PhDs yearly—surpassing the US. Patents? Germany (2 lakh STEM grads) files double India's 64,000 despite fewer students. India boasts 8,000+ universities (world's most), but only 1% are top research hubs vs China's 10%. No Indian scientist has won a Nobel in India since CV Raman 94 years ago.
Why STEM Lags: Culture, Cash, and Complacency
Blame high cutoffs, poor ROI (Indian MBBS earns ₹30,000/month vs $50,000 in US), missing scientific mindset. We idolize cricketers, not scientists; R&D spend <1% GDP vs global 2-4%. Publications? India ranks 3rd in quantity, but zero in top-10 quality reads.
Jindal's verdict: Jobless growth persists because masses lack skills. Private sector shuns long-term research like Japan's Shuji Nakamura, who persisted 15 years for blue LED Nobel, boosting Nikon fortunes.
Opinion: Reform Now or Lose the 21st Century
This isn't anti-humanities—it's pro-progress. India must emulate China's bottom-up: Mandate vocational skills, hike R&D to 2% GDP, celebrate scientists, fund IITs for AI/green tech. Cut BA BCom glorification; promote STEM with subsidies, better core-job pipelines.
Youth, skip the BA BCom scam—choose STEM with purpose. Government, build the ecosystem. Beijing writes 21st-century rules; Delhi must catch up. India's potential is unrealized; time to unleash it.
