'OUR DEGREE WILL BE OF NO USE'

Maharashtra's agriculture engineering students protested for 50 days against a change in the syllabus of a government exam that drastically reduced their chances of landing agriculture officer posts.

- Sanjay

Amol Karande's dream of becoming a government agriculture officer in Maharashtra is "falling apart". He is a third-year student of B.Tech in agricultural engineering at Vasantrao Naik Marathwada Krishi Vidyapeeth (VNMKV), Parbhani, Maharashtra. A first-generation learner from a farming family, he is among hundreds of engineering students who hoped to help the state's farmers improve productivity through modern technology.

Those plans are now at risk. In February 2022, the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) changed the syllabus for the Maharashtra Agriculture Service Exam which now allegedly favours the BSc Agriculture curriculum instead of the B.Tech.

In 2022, MPSC recruited agricultural officers in two rounds, through exams based on the new syllabus. Few agricultural engineering students are clearing it now. According to students, this will deprive the state's farmers of "quality human resource".

Students protest

Apart from VNMKV Parbhani, Maharashtra has three agricultural universities - Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV), Rahuri; Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV), Akola; and Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli (BSKKV). They offertwo majorstreams-agriculture and agricultural engineering.

Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agriculture deals with farming processes, government agencies and schemes and also ways to raise productivity and improve agricultural quality with environment and safety in mind. BTech Agriculture is a professional degree covering new technologies and automation.