Shaping Agricultural Education in India: Implementing ICAR VIth Deans' Committee Reforms at SR University, Warangal

The Sixth Deans' Committee of the ICAR VI Deans' Committee has significantly transformed agricultural education in India to address the new needs of the agriculture industry and the guidelines of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. 

Key Area of Emphasis and Reforms Implemented:

1. Programme Structure and Length:

The committee had recommended a 4-year B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture programme with a point of exit after:

1st year: Certificate in Agriculture Sciences

2nd year: Diploma in Agriculture Sciences

4th year: B.Sc. (Hons.) in Agriculture Sciences

Multi-entry and exit-entry mechanism under NEP 2020 provides students with flexibility with depth of knowledge for students taking the whole degree.

2. Standardization of Curriculum Across Universities:

Same curriculum was adopted in all agricultural universities to ensure uniform academic standards and learning outcomes nationwide.

Courses were simplified to include major agriculture disciplines while removing antiquated material.

3. Skill Development and Experiential Learning:

The Student READY (Rural Entrepreneurship Awareness Development Yojana) program has been further boosted to offer practical training.

Hands-on practice, internships, and rural agricultural work experience (RAWE) must be provided to students to make them more practical along with theoretical.

Greater focus on skill-based learning provides students with the means to achieve self-employment and entrepreneurial prospects.

4. Reforms and Credit System Evaluation:

Flexible learning Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) was suggested by the committee.

Academic Bank of Credits (ABC) system allows students to store and transfer credits from one institution to another.

50:50 internal-external evaluation proportion has been suggested for an even-evaluation plan.

5. Degree Standardization and Terminology

All the degrees now have a standardized nomenclature such as B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture, B.Sc. (Hons.) Horticulture, B.Tech. Agricultural Engineering, etc.

The intent is to keep it simple and uniform in higher education degrees all over the nation.

6. Infrastructure and Faculty Development:

VI Deans' Committee has a minimum infrastructure requirement for establishing new colleges of agriculture, which are as follows:

Modern laboratories Research farms Libraries and computer centers

Teacher upgradation schemes have been proposed to keep the teachers on par with newer teaching practices and newer technology in agriculture.

7. Research and Innovation Integration:

More emphasis on technology adoption in agriculture including: Precision agriculture, remote sensing, GIS. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based crop monitoring.

Facilitating research collaborations between Universities, ICAR Institutes, and Private Agri-Tech companies.

8. Way Forward and Long-term Impact:

VI Changes to Deans' Committee aim at:

Reform India's agriculture education.

9. Implementation and Current Status:

Most of the universities have followed the recommendations of the Sixth Deans' Committee.

The ICAR has made it mandatory for all accredited agricultural universities to follow.

SR University School of Agriculture has been able to implement the ICAR VIth Deans' Committee recommendations, harmonizing its agricultural education system with national standards. This standardizes the course, enhances skill development and experiential focus, and imparts industry-focused skills and practical exposure based on modern agricultural practice

This reform will go a long way in fueling the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) drive by making future generations of agri-innovators and policy-makers stronger.