New Delhi, Jan. 3 -- South Asia as of today stands at a demographic crossroad.The region has one of the largest youth populations in the world. Ideally, the region should have been poised for an economic take-off. Instead, you will find millions of young people struggling to find meaningful employment or jobs. What is often regarded as a demographic dividend is increasingly becoming a demographic pressure, with serious implications for social stability and political governance.

At the heart of the crisis lies a deep mismatch between education and employment. Over the past two decades, access to higher education has spread rapidly across the region. The expansion has however been largely quantitative, not qualitative. Universities and col...