No entry at CSKAU for pupils from ‘unapproved’ institutes

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, January 20

The academic council of Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Agriculture University (CSKAU), Palampur, at a meeting held here on Friday, has decided not to give admissions to BSc (agriculture) degree holders from private universities in its postgraduate courses.

Vice-Chancellor AK Sarial said it had come to their notice that many private universities were running BSc agriculture course without the approval of the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) or other approved bodies of the Government of India.

He said the students from these private institutes were giving “unhealthy” competition to students from government and approved institutions in admissions for postgraduate courses in agriculture and veterinary sciences. Therefore, the academic council of the university had decided not to allow students from unapproved institutions into postgraduate courses, he said.

Sarial said the government had also decided against allowing students doing BSc agriculture from unapproved institutions into government jobs.

According to information, BSc agriculture course has been started in various private institutes in the region due to the demand of graduates in this disciple in government and private sectors. Government universities such as CSKAU, Palampur, have limited seats of this course. It has just 150 seats in BSc agriculture and Bachelors in veterinary sciences. 

As many as 18,000 students had applied for BSc agriculture course at the Palampur university this year. 

Himachal has several unauthorised institutions that are offering courses to students. Earlier, deemed universities from other states had opened their centres in various parts of the state and were offering correspondence courses to students. The police had cracked down on these institutes on the directions of the Himachal High Court.

Prem Kumar, a former educationist, said the government should crack down on institutes offering invalid degrees. “Students spend lakhs on getting a degree in BSc agriculture. And if they are told that they are ineligible for government jobs or postgraduate courses, it is gross injustice with them,” he said.