STATUS OF HIGHER
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION IN
INDIA
Dr. Kusumakar Sharma
Assistant Director General (HRD)
Indian Council of Agricultural Research,
New Delhi
India Today….
> 17% of the world’s human & 11% livestock
population and counting
4.2% of the world’s water
2.4% of the world’s area
142 m ha cultivated & 60 m ha net irrigated
138% cropping intensity
52% of population earns livelihood in agriculture
14.7% contribution in GDP
10.5% earning of total exports
Distinct Transitions: History of Agriculture
Technology Convergence (21st century)
Biotechnology Era
(2000s)
Y = 4 t/ha..
* KBS
Green Revolution
(1970s)
Traditional
Farming
(Early 1900s)
Y = >1.5 t/ha,
HRD/ Technological
Break Through
Mechanization
(1960s)
Y = >1 t/ha,
Co-operatives
Y = >0.5 t/ha,
Land Reforms
Y = < 0.5 t/ha,
Feudalism
* Knowledge based Society
India in World Food Basket….
Present Annual
Production, mt
Rank in the
World
Demand by
2020, mt
Food grain
257
III
284
Pulses
17.2
I
22
Oilseeds
30
V
68
Horticulture Produce
234
II
336
Milk
127
I
152
Meat
6.8
V
11
Eggs (billion no.)
65
III
88
Fish
8.3
II
12
Commodity
Opportunities of Agricultural
Science and Technology
Technology led agriculture growth possible only by strengthening institutions
of higher agriculture education
Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)-major drivers of national
development
Vital role in agricultural transformation, reducing hunger and poverty
Agriculture R&D policy integrated with the national R&D system and STI
Policy-2013
The research focus shifted from a commodity based approach to a farming
systems approach
Focused, time bound multi-disciplinary research conceived through research
consortia platforms
Launched National Action Plan for Climate Change to cope with the climate
change
Inter-departmental platforms for research involving CSIR, DBT, ICMR, DRDO,
DST research institutes, universities and Ministries of Environment, Space
and Earth Sciences proposed
Promise and Perils of the
agricultural sector
Food self-sufficiency must for food &
nutritional security, economic progress
and industries
Need for a shift from food-grains to other
sub sectors of agriculture
The challenge is to produce more from
less for more
Importance of agriculture to due to
concerns for food security, employment,
rural poverty and availability of wage
goods
One (1) %-age point growth in agriculture
is 2-3 times more effective in reducing
poverty than non-agriculture sector
growth
Paradox of relatively low contribution to
GDP but dependency of more than 50%
of India’s population
Low agricultural productivity : a multi-faceted
problem
Low
productivityrepresents a
huge need &
opportunity
HRD for increased Farm Income…..
Increased
Farm Income
Competent
Human Resource
Higher
Production
Diversification
Trade & Market
Development
Improved
Technologies
Farmers
Participation
Policy
Initiatives
Legacy of Education….
Agricultural education existed in India even during
ancient period.
Agriculture was included in curricula of Nalanda and
Takshila Universities as one of the 18 arts.
In the relatively recent past, agricultural education in
India started way back in 1877 with establishment of
first agricultural school at Saidapet in Madras.
Organized courses in agricultural education started in
the beginning of the 20th century when six
agricultural colleges were established.
NARES:- One of the largest in the
World!
DUs
05
National
Agricultural
Research &
Education
System
AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITIES BY
SECTOR
14
4
44
3
Veterinary Sciences
Horticulture
Fisheries
Composite
Structure of Agricultural
Education
Informal
Education
Formal
Education
Non-Formal
Education
Informal Agricultural
Education
Learning-
how to
learn!
Formal Agricultural
Education:10+2
level
Agriculture- National Curriculum for School Education-2000
(based on minimum level of learning)
Pre-Primary
environmental
awareness
Primary Classes (III- V)
environmental
phenomenon
Upper Primary
Classes (VI-VIII)
Agriculture and
technology processes as
part of work education
ICSE, CBSE & State
boards
Introduced agriculture as
an optional subject
Graduate level Agricultural Education
Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) of the
Central Government responsible of coordinating agricultural education
in the country through ICAR.
A State Agricultural University (SAU) is established through the
enactment of Legislative Act of the respective state.
Standard pattern for a bachelor degree in agriculture and allied
sciences, except veterinary science commonly referred to as the
10+2+4 pattern.
ICAR fosters a countrywide arrangement with the AUs to set aside 15%
of their seats for Bachelor degree programs to be admitted through its
All India Entrance Examination to improve overall quality of
agricultural education
Post Graduate level
Agricultural Education
PG degree awarded
by AUs in 93 subsubjects under 20
major subject
groups
The professional
degrees are of 4
semester duration
based on a 4-year
bachelor
ICAR conducts
entrance test for PG
admissions to fill all
the seats of ICAR Dus
and 25% of the seats
of SAU’s and CAU
ICAR as nodal agency at the national level is striving to bring uniformity in syllabus,
nomenclature, mode of examination and distribution of credits among major and minor
fields and research work
AUs award Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph.D)
degrees in 14 major
subject-groups
covering 56 subsubjects. Admission
requires a Master'
Degree in the same
subject.
The Ph.D. degree is of
6 semester duration
involving original
research and also
coursework spreadover atleast two
semesters
ICAR research
institutes and
laboratories are
recognized for
doctoral work although
the usual case is that a
university awards the
degree.
Attracting talents to Agricultural
Education….
All India Entrance
Examination
UG : 15% seats
PG : 25% seats
Fellowships / Scholarships
SRF : 202
JRF : 475
NTS : ICAR UG Admissions
outside state
MCM : 7% of students
Internship : BVSc
RAWE
•
•
•
•
Students Counselling,
Personality Development ,
Placement
Examination reforms
Course
Curriculu
m
1
Rationalization of policies for admission,
programme duration, credit requirements,
evaluation & curricula grading-updating-revision
2
ICAR’s Deans Committees regularly suggests
model course curricula, syllabi and academic
regulations.
3
UG curricula for 7 major faculties revised with
focus on courses like IT, bio-stats., bio-tech.,
ABM, banking & co-operation etc.
4
Revised UG curricula also provide 6 months of
Rural Agricultural Work Experience. Detailed
curricula developed for 16 PG Programmes.
5
Transparency in the internal evaluation system
at UG & PG levels.
Curriculum- Transition from RAWE to
READY….
Objective
To impart formal and
informal training and
prepare the working
population
employable
for
a
broad
range
of
occupations including
agriculture.
Vocational Courses in
Agricultural
Education
Requirement
Bridge
Professionals
Methodology
with core basic skills in
different domains of • Class-room
instructions
agriculture
supply
chain is required to the • Laboratory instructions
tune of 1.7 million by • Supervised
occupational
2020.
experiences
• Distance education
Governance in agriculture
education
State governments
I
C
A
R
Promoting
norms and
standards
of
education
• Establishment of SAUs
• Integration of Agricultural research
extension
• Ag. Edn. is State responsibility
Education
&
Union government
• Promotion of Research & co-ordination and
determination
of
standards
in
State
institutions
• DARE co-ordinates at National level.
Administration at National Level
•Union Minister of Agriculture – Ex-officio President of
Society
•Director General of ICAR –Ex-officio Secretary DARE
Tran-sectoral issues
1.
2.
3.
4.
Challenges to Higher Education- no longer Nation
Centric
Agriculture Education needs to be evaluated in the
context and relevance of Economic, environmental and
production needs of the society
A holistic approach needed to expand pool of
institutions, scholars and students to achieve global
excellence
Critical areas ranging from issues of access, equity and
excellence to teaching-learning process, research,
governance, funding and monitoring in a coordinated
manner need to be addressed
Challenges & Issues….









New Universities without matching resources
Faculty Shortage in the frontier areas
Extensive inbreeding
Inadequate employability
Faculty Competence in emerging areas
Lack of modern infrastructure
Inadequate hands on skills
Weak research networking & linkages
Regional inequalities and natural resource
degradation
Recommendations…..
1
Attracting students to agricultural
Education
7
Governance and structure
2
Academic Reforms
8
Globalization and partnership
3
Curriculum improvement
9
Centre-state partnership
4
Faculty improvement
10
Non-formal education
5
Inclusive growth
11
Financial sustainability
6
Institutional development
Initiatives proposed….
• Initiation of a new fellowship “ASPIRE” for young talents,
• Initiation of ICAR Post Doctoral Fellowships,
• Broadening scope of NTS to PG students,
• Enhancing the stipend of RAWE/Internship,
• Strengthening student amenities,
• Sandwich/ exchange programme
New initiatives for Capacity
Building and Addressing Faculty
shortage
Capacity Building
 Initiation of Centres of Faculty
Excellence in AUs,
 Competitive Research Grant to
faculty,
 ICAR-Overseas Associateship,
 International Fellowships,
 Faculty exposure to International
Conferences/ Symposia.
 Centres of Excellence
Addressing Faculty Shortage
 Adjunct & Visiting Faculty,
 Initiation of ICAR Resident Scholar
Scheme,
 Initiation of ICAR Emeritus
Professor Scheme,
 Strengthening of ICAR-Emeritus
Scientist Scheme.
 Teaching Associates/ Teaching
Assistants
Globalizing Education….
 Attract international students
 Encourage global networking
 Promote collaborative research
 Permit dual degree programmes
 Set up campuses abroad
 Strategic alliance
International Linkages….
AUs having
MoUs with
Foreign
Universities
Foreign
Students
Admission
(Over
250/year)
ICAR
International
Fellowships
(15 every year, both
ways)
India - Africa
Fellowships
India -Afghanistan
Fellowships
75 Fellowships (50 M.Sc.
+ 25 Ph.D.) every year for
4 years to Africans in
India
115 Fellowships (75 M.Sc.
+ 40 Ph.D.) every year for
5 years to Afghans in
India
ASEAN
Federal Support to AUs
Renovation &
Modernization
of Labs, Class
Rooms, etc.
Library
e - Resources
Faculty
Development
Extended
Faculty (Guest
Lecture, Adjunct
& Guest Faculty)
e-Courses
Fast and low-cost method to increase
outreach to students/colleges / universities
• One of the largest e-learning initiatives
• Provides uniform & quality learning material both
online & offline to complement formal education
• Courses developed & delivered -262 out of 426
Degree Programs Covered (7)
Agriculture, B.V.Sc. & AH, Horticulture, Fishery
Science, Home Science, Dairy Tech and Agril. Engg.
Total 426 Courses
Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture
CeRA facilitates online access of scientific journal on
Scientist's desktop at 24x7 through IP Authentication
• Covers 2900 Journals to 145
Members in NARS
• > 8000 DDR (Document
Delivery Request) System
• Assuming a cost of US $ 4
per article download the
Consortium has notionally
recovered more than Rs. 80
Crore
Avg. Citation of Research Publications (2000-2004)
in 2004-07 (Pre-) and 2008-11 (Post-) CeRA
Achievements in Agricultural Education
Access
Increased
Knowledge
Quality Assurance
Better Governance
Gender Equity
Entrepreneurship
Confidence
Acceptability of Students
Employability of
Students
Faculty Competence
Reduced Inbreeding
Promotion of Excellence
Promotion of Merit
Globalization
Conclusions…
India has a very strong and dynamic agricultural education system in the country for
ensuring sustainable agricultural development and livelihood security.
Agricultural education system in India has distinctly evolved on the British system of
education during pre-independence era and in post-independence era, on the US
Land grant pattern.
The continued support of ICAR has resulted tremendous improvement in
infrastructure, skilled manpower and capacity of faculty and farms.
A dynamic approach is needed to bring transformation towards producing
professionals who are competent, self- reliant and capable to swiftly adjust with the
ever-changing societal requirements.
India is poised to become preferred destination of foreign students for agricultural
education because of improved infrastructure and enhanced skills and competencies
for meeting new challenges.
Vision 2030:
Green Revolution to Rainbow Revolution
Our efforts in HRD continue….