Agri-education faces fund shortage

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: Higher education in agriculture in India has not yet got the needed support to modernise and upgrade itself to meet the challenges of global competition. The state agriculture universities, numbering about 41, are suffering from severe financial constraints. The state agriculture universities (SAUs) in particular, suffer on account of inadequate support from state governments, which is not enough to meet even the salaries and establishment charges. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) extends financial support to the SAUs, which amounted to about 58.62% of ICAR’s Xth Plan outlay.

An effective assessment of the critical needs of SAUs was made during the terminal year of the Xth Plan. The XIth Plan Working Group on Agricultural Research and Education constituted by the Planning Commission also made an in-depth analysis and recommended Rs 10,000 crore as funding support to SAUs out of Rs 30,000 crore total recommended for ICAR. However, the Planning Commission has made an allocation of Rs 12,023 crore out of which ICAR plans to allocate Rs 3,000 crore for education. In addition, an additional amount of Rs 760 crore was proposed for developing farm facilities and limited essential equipment. Further, in response to the PMO’s initiative for revamping agricultural universities, over and above the normal ICAR support, a sum of Rs 1,710 crore was proposed.

Also, during the follow up meeting in the prime minister’s office (PMO) on October 12, 2007, it was opined that funds to the universities be provided for region-specific technology development which may cost around Rs 500 crore during the XIth Plan. Thus, over and above ICAR planned outlay for universities, an additional total sum of Rs 3,000 crore have been proposed in response to various initiatives.

Apart from low funding India’s higher education in agriculture suffers from low access—gross enrolment ratio being about 10% compared with 60% in the US and Canada and 40% in several European countries. Several SAUs are not accredited yet, and hence difficult to ensure quality standards. Other constraints which need to be overcome are gender participation, old course curricula and delivery methods, inbreeding and lack of faculty-competence in cutting edge technologies.