Maharashtra Govt. Grants Professional Status to 11 UG and PG Courses in Agricultural Universities
Maharashtra government has granted professional status to 11 UG and PG courses offered by four agricultural universities. Students of these courses are eligible for tuition fee reimbursement now.
Following the constant demand and protest from students’ community, the Government of Maharashtra has granted professional status to 11 Under Graduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) courses offered by four agricultural universities across the state. In 2017, a similar move was taken by the government as per the rules of ICAR (Indian Council for Agriculture Research), and on the basis of same, the professional status has been granted to 11 UG and PG courses.
However, diploma and doctoral courses offered by these universities have been kept out of ambit from the professional status, and students have been demanding the same status for these courses too. According to students, the professional status for agricultural courses will improve the employability of students, and keeping away diploma and doctoral courses from this will reduce their employability.
The issue with regard to professional status for agricultural courses came into limelight in January 2019 when a resolution was issued by the state government seeking clarity on the nomenclature of various courses offered by state agricultural universities. The resolution clearly specified Diploma, PG and Doctoral courses as non-professional. If these courses were professional, economically weaker students would be eligible for the fee reimbursement. However, the government’s resolution disappointed the students.
Also Read: Maharashtra B.Sc Agriculture Admissions 2020
On March 05, 2020, the state government sent a circular to all the agricultural universities stating that 11 UG and PG courses will be termed as professional. PG agriculture students are happy with the move, as they will be eligible for free ships (reimbursement of tuition fee). However, Diploma and Doctoral students of these universities are still not happy with the government’s move, as these courses were not granted professional status.
Also Read: Government Job Scope for B.Sc and M.Sc Agriculture Graduates
Stay tuned to CollegeDekho for the latest Maharashtra education news and admission updates.