New Delhi, Aug. 27 -- The existential threat of artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally broken the traditional promise of higher education: get a degree, get a job. The corporate hierarchy is aggressively shifting from a pyramid to a diamond.

At the bottom, where legions of fresh graduates used to find entry-level jobs, companies can now dispense with human employees, deploying AI to automate tasks. The roles at the centre and top demand high-level synthesis, creativity and adaptability.

With fewer entry-level positions available, an uncomfortable question haunts every student and parent in India while choosing a college: Why go to a certain university if it no longer guarantees a job?

The answer requires tearing down the way we...