100 private colleges offering farm course in a quandary

Chandigarh, April 21

More than 100 private colleges in the state, which are offering four-year course in BSc (agriculture), will have to discontinue the same if they fail to comply with the Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education Act, 2017, by June 30. These institutions are affiliated with Punjabi University, Punjab Agricultural University and Guru Nanak Dev University.

The Act, which was notified in January 2018, specifies the minimum standards and guidelines for imparting agricultural education and training, which are to be followed by the colleges and universities.

What the Act says

• The Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education Act, 2017 specifies minimum standards & guidelines for imparting agricultural education & training
• The guidelines say each agriculture college should earmark 50 acre for practical knowledge
• If colleges failed to comply with the Act by June 30, they will have to discontinue the course

The guidelines say that each agriculture college should earmark 50 acre for practical knowledge. However, the state Cabinet had on November 19 deferred the implementation of the Act till June 30 this year.

The Punjab Unaided Colleges’ Association (PUCA) has now urged the CM to intervene as at least 100 colleges face closure in one month.

Dr Anshu Kataria, president of the association, said there were more than 100 agricultural institutes in Punjab that were imparting education to at least 30,000 students and had facilitated jobs to more than 5,000. He questioned the increase in the minimum land requirement from 5 acres to 50 acres. — TNS