6 min readAug 1, 2026 06:55 AM IST First published on: Aug 1, 2026 at 06:35 AM ISTYouth are future-looking, the proverbial canaries in the coalmine. Their frustrations, simmering for years as they sit exam after exam in an often futile search for seats in elite educational institutions or government jobs, have finally boiled over. As our youth lit up social media, and fearlessly endured police lathis, tear gas, and FIRs, they captured the public’s imagination. The government eventually conceded protester demands and set up a high-powered task force on examination reform under the respected Nandan Nilekani. Even so, there is a real risk we miss the signal our youth are sending.They are not just concerned about exam leaks, as this newspaper has itself pointed out. Their fears are partly about joblessness: About a future made bleak by inadequate education and skilling, the spread of artificial intelligence and automation, and competition from countries with better-prepared workforces. Official figures already put unemployment among 15–29-year-olds at more than three times the overall rate.