Analysis Of Colleges Offering UG Courses In Agriculture And Allied Sectors In South India: NIRF 2023

The “Agriculture and Allied Sector” makes a substantial contribution of 20.3 per cent to the Gross Value Added (GVA). GVA represents the overall value of goods and services produced by a particular sector. Recognising this importance, the inclusion of “Agricultural and Allied Sector” colleges in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a commendable step by the Ministry of Education. NIRF is a framework used to rank educational institutions in India based on various parameters such as teaching, research, and placements.

From the list of these 40 agricultural colleges, 14 are located in the southern zone of India, i.e in states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. Tamil Nadu leads the five “Agriculture and Allied Sector” colleges. It is not the highest number of colleges in a particular state of south India but the entire country. Among the top 40 colleges in the "Allied and Agricultural Sector," Telangana has only one college that made it to the NIRF ranking of 2023.

This analysis has only considered the colleges with undergraduate programmes of four years. The National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, the only college in Telangana, is not considered in this report as it only offers a postgraduate programme of two years. Here is the list of 13 colleges and their respective NIRF rankings considered in this analysis report.

TABLE 1- NIRF Ranking

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Percentage Of Graduates

Tamil Nadu Dr J Jayalalithaa Fisheries University which is ranked last on the NIRF list of “Agriculture and Allied Sector” colleges in southern India, has achieved the highest percentage of students graduating within the minimum stipulated time. National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management is ranked at 13 position on the NIRF list. It has the lowest percentage of graduates among all the colleges. The institute witnessed a decline of 39.29 percentage points in 2020-21 and 14.29 percentage points in 2021-22 compared to the graduation rate in 2019-20. Similarly, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, experienced an 8.45 percentage point decrease in the graduation rate from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

Table 2- Students who graduated in minimum stipulated time over 3 years(In %)

NIRF: Agriculture and Allied Sector: Placements

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University is the top-ranked “Agriculture and Allied Sector” college in South India. It witnessed a fluctuating trend in the percentage of graduate students placed. It experienced a decline of 8.99 percentage points in 2020-21 with a subsequent increase of 3.72 percentage points in 2021-22. Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University saw a significant drop of 22.40 percentage points in the placement rate of graduated students from 2019-20 to 2021-22. The University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur recorded zero placements for its students in 2021-22 resulting in a staggering 44.30 percentage point decrease since 2019-20.

Table 5-Graduated Students Who Got Placed Over 3 years (In %)

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Gradual Increase In Median Salary

There were no exceptional changes witnessed in the median salary in Agriculture and Allied Sector colleges in south India. Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University has maintained a consistent median salary package over a period of three years. On the other hand, Kerala University of Fisheries & Ocean Studies with an NIRF ranking of 25 witnessed a decline of Rs 85,000 in 2021 compared to 2019-20. Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University recorded the highest increase among South Indian colleges, with a jump of Rs 2.5 lakh in 2021-22 from 2019-20. Since the University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur was unable to place any of its graduate students, its median salary dropped to zero in 2021-22 as per the records.

Table 4- Median Salary Of Placed Students Over 3 Years (in lakhs per annum)

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Changing Trends In Higher Studies Choices

Tamil Nadu Veterinary & Animal Sciences University has continuously dropped its rate of students opting for higher studies in 2021-22 since its previous years. University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad recorded the highest rise in the students opting for higher studies in 2020-21 from the year 2019-20. University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur did not have any students opting for higher studies in 2021-22 despite placing more than 50 per cent of graduated students in previous years of 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Table 5-Students Who Went For Higher Studies Over 3 years (In %)