Agricultural engineering education in India need for reorientation

Agricultural engineering education, which commenced formally in 1942 in India, has made steady progress. The agricultural engineers have significantly contributed in agricultural and rural development. However of late, preference for this program among students seeking professional carrier in engineering, technology and agricultural sciences is declining. One of the reasons may be shrinking job opportunity in government and semi-government organizations including educational and research institutions, where large number of agricultural engineers used to get employed. The other reason may be lack of entrepreneurial skill and confidence in taking up self-employment.

Dr M.S. Swaminathan Committee on Agricultural Education has emphasized that agricultural sciences graduates should be job creators and not job seekers. The agricultural engineering rofession has to examine whether the curriculum and its delivery system equip the students for this purpose. A careful scrutiny of the objectives as proposed by various Deans' Committees on Agricultural Education indicates that enough emphasis was not given on self employment may be it was not required. However, in changed scenario, it is imperative to reorient agricultural engineering education, with development of entrepreneur skill as the main objective. This calls for redefining the objectives of agricultural engineering education and ensuring that the objectives are achieved. To accomplish the objectives, minimum norms and standards for colleges are to be prescribed and enforced. In addition, curricula, syllabi and teaching-learning methods have to be suitably modified. A perusal of curricula in several developed countries shows that even at UG level, many specialized options are available for students to choose. In India, home science education, which practically has no taker at present, has restructured its UG program with specialization in 11 branches, with emphasis on skill and enterpreneurship development. An effort has been made in this paper to redefine objectives of agricultural engineering education, both at UG and PG levels, prescribe minimum norms and standards for agricultural engineering colleges, and suggest restructuring of curricula and syllabi, so as to make undergraduates in agricultural engineering as job creators, a theme being emphasized and made as mission of agricultural sciences education in India.