Kerala’s higher education reforms — particularly the introduction of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) across universities — aimed to strengthen student skill development through mandatory internships. However, instead of offering meaningful industry exposure, the system has increasingly become a financial burden and exploitative arrangement for many students. Critics are now calling these internships pay-to-learn traps due to weak regulation, unclear vetting and high costs that many students simply cannot afford.
1. What the Report Reveals: Internship Kerala Portal Issues
❖ Rapid Rollout with Limited Oversight
The Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) launched the Internship Kerala portal to centralize placements and connect students with internship providers. The intent was to bridge students with companies for hands-on experience aligned with academic learning.
But early implementation has revealed critical flaws:
- Lack of academic and quality guidelines for listed firms.
- Private entities acting as training centres charge students significant fees (some up to ₹10,000) for internships.
- Genuine stipend-based or work-oriented opportunities are scarce.
- Many providers use internships as entry points for training courses rather than workplace engagement.
Students are required to complete this internship for academic credits, yet the portal’s listings often demand fees instead of paying interns, effectively reversing the purpose of an internship.
2. Real Student Experiences: Voices from Campus
Several students across arts and sciences institutions in Kerala have voiced concerns about the system:
- Financial burden: Many internships listed require upfront fees that students — especially from middle or lower-income families — struggle to afford.
- Lack of relevance: Arts and non-professional stream students find it particularly hard to locate subject-aligned internships.
- Confusion over process: With limited institutional guidance, students and even teachers are unclear about how internships should be enrolled or supervised.
With no clear roadmap for free or stipend-based opportunities, many students have resorted to volunteer registrations at cultural bodies just to meet credit requirements — an arrangement that may offer little real industry learning.
3. Experts and Educator Concerns
Educators and academic administrators say the current situation deviates sharply from the original objective of internships as practical workplace exposure that prepares students for future employment.
Some key criticisms include:
- Lack of vetting: Many firms listed on the portal are unverified and operate mainly as training providers rather than places offering real organizational tasks.
- Financial exploitation risk: Charging students for internships, especially when academic credits are tied to their completion, can be seen as institutionalized financial exploitation.
- Academic disconnect: Without clear quality criteria or academic relevance checks, many internships may not contribute meaningfully to employability outcomes.
4. Why This Became a Pay-to-Learn Model
Several factors combined have led to this unintended consequence:
✔ No Robust Accreditation Standards
While the portal lists internship opportunities, there appears to be no clear regulatory framework to assess whether firms provide adequate professional exposure.
✔ Market Response to Demand
With mandatory internships now part of curriculum requirements, private training centers have stepped in, marketing their own paid programmes as internships, capitalizing on student urgency.
✔ Limited Institutional Guidance
Colleges and universities — especially those newly adapting to FYUGP — are struggling to provide systematic internship oversight or alternative pathways for students without industry contacts.
✔ Exploitative Market Practices
A parallel digital discussion among students shows similar patterns across Kerala and other cities where paid internships that require students to pay money are common and often offer minimal real learning or mentorship. Many students online warn that if an internship charges money upfront, it is essentially a training product sold as internship exposure.
5. Calls for Reform: What Needs to Change
Stakeholders — including students, academics and policy analysts — have made several recommendations:
🔹 Establish Clear Accreditation Standards
Internship providers listed on the portal should be vetted based on industry relevance, project content, mentoring quality and learning outcomes.
🔹 Increase Stipend and Free Opportunities
The platform should prioritize stipend-based internships and free opportunities, especially for students from economically weaker backgrounds.
🔹 Expand Public Sector Participation
Bringing more public sector units (PSUs) and government internships into the system can help provide structured, accountable positions with clearer deliverables and oversight.
🔹 Transparent Guidelines and Oversight
A policy framework governing internship duration, assessment criteria, mentorship requirements, and dispute resolution can protect students from exploitation.
