The policy of the State government to freeze further affiliations for agricultural colleges through Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Coimbatore, will continue for the 2024-25 session.
The State Government had, three years back, decided to stop affiliations in keeping with the demand-supply dynamics, in the interests of the graduating students.
“The State Government had taken a policy decision not to affiliate new agricultural colleges three years back, and it will hold good for the 2024-25 session,” Vice-Chancellor V. Geethalakshmi said.
The TNAU has in its fold 28 affiliated colleges and 18 constituent colleges. The latest constituent colleges to be added are the ones at Paiyur in Krishnagiri district, Chettinad in Sivaganga district, Keezh Velur in Nagapattinam district, and in Karur district.
As for the deemed-to-be universities offering programmes in agriculture and related disciplines, the norms have been tightened by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), according to TNAU sources.
The TNAU had, in recent years, been raising apprehensions over the quality of the programmes being offered by private deemed-to-be universities, particularly due to non-conformity to the infrastructure requirements.
The ICAR had, during 2016, formulated Minimum Standards for Higher Community Science Agricultural Education for the disciplines of Agriculture, Agriculture Engineering, Biotechnology, Home Sciences, Horticulture, Dairy Technology, Food Technology, Fisheries, Forestry and Sericulture.
Yet, the deemed-to-be universities managed to offer the programme with the approval of UGC.
According to TNAU sources, the ICAR is the prime authority to endorse the course content factoring in the research infrastructure for institutions offering B.Sc. Agriculture programme in all institutions, including deemed-to-be universities.
The ICAR purview over agricultural colleges is akin to the monitoring of engineering colleges by All India Council for Technical Education, senior professors point out.
Restrictions have now been imposed on the extent of intake for the deemed-to-be universities that had been offering the programme without the requisite extent of agricultural land for field trials, and without adequate faculty with research outlook, TNAU sources said.
