Reorienting Agricultural Education System in India

In order to revitalize Indian education system, the Government of India has recently approved National Education Policy-2020 (NEP-2020) and proposed sweeping changes including opening up of Indian higher education to foreign universities, dismantling of the UGC and the AICTE, introduction of a 4-year multidisciplinary undergraduate program with multiple exit options, and discontinuation of the M Phil program. It aims at making ‘India a global knowledge superpower’. In the light of National Education Policy-2020, agricultural education system needs to be redefined in India as it increases knowledge or information and farmer’s capacity to learn. As the level of agricultural education increases, farmers will become more and more self-reliant and will depend more on their self-studies dealing with farming. It is suggested that reorientation of agricultural higher education in context of globalization, food security, diversification, sustainability of ecosystems, and agribusiness is necessary. The curriculum of agricultural higher education needs to be made more broad based and manpower has to be trained scientifically in topics such as biotechnology, genetic engineering, agro-meteorology, environmental science, agro-ecology, computer application, information technology, conservation of natural and human resources, specialized job-oriented courses, and trade and export in agribusiness. Finally, adequate emphasis should be placed on practical skills and entrepreneurial capabilities among the students to achieve excellence. To properly address the challenges faced by today’s Indian agriculture, competent human resource in sufficiently large numbers would be required in the near future. There is a vast scope for young graduates to undertake agriculture as their profession which is directly or indirectly contributing to the economic and social development of the country.