Despite a mad rush for engineering and medical courses, agriculture courses continue to keep students under their sway.
“The Tamil Nadu Agriculture University (TNAU) in Coimbatore and its seven constituent colleges, which include the Agricultural College and Research Institute (AC and RI) in Madurai, have so far sold more than 21,500 applications this year. While a bulk of the application process has gone online, the AC and RI has set up a special helpdesk on the campus to serve students from rural areas,” said its Dean K. Velayudham. He said that B.Sc. Agriculture remained the most preferred course, followed by Agriculture Engineering.
Arul Anandar College in Karumathur, which offers bachelor’s programme in Rural Development Sciences and master’s programme in Dairy Science and Rural Management, also attracts a steady stream of students. Its Principal S.J. Xavier Vedam said, “Sixty students have been admitted to the bachelor’s programme till date. In the last few years, there has been an increase in number of students who are genuinely interested in studying rural development and agriculture,” he said.
Mr. Xavier said that these courses enabled the students to pursue their interest in agriculture and hone their skills thanks to a job-oriented syllabus. “Many students go on to set up poultry farms, dairy farms and horticulture enterprises as they are exposed to all these subjects,” he said.
Stating that there were plenty of opportunities in the ever-growing agro and food-processing industries, Mr. Velayudham said that many students had become agri-entrepreneurs or had joined leading companies. “Many also shine in administrative jobs in the government or take up civil services examinations,” he said.
