Non-compliance costs Faridkot govt college its 81-year-old BSc agri course

Eighty one years after its commencement, curtains are down on the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (BSc Agriculture) course at Government Brijindra College in Faridkot, as the last batch of this stream appeared in their final exam on Wednesday.

Started in the pre-independence era in 1942, the course used to have 100 seats, offered by the college for a nominal fee.

Unavailability of faculty and farm land among other reasons as mandated by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) rules have left the four-year course of BSc in Agriculture at Faridkot government college in the farmer-dominated southern Malwa belt of Punjab shut.

The Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education Act, 2017 was notified in January 2018 and the minimum standards were required to be met by the institutions imparting agricultural education by January 1, 2020.

Communication was first forwarded to Brijindra Government College in 2019 by the ICAR, asking to fulfill the shortcomings which include 25 acres of agricultural land, a modern laboratory, and adequate staff.

No admissions were made to the BSc agriculture course since 2020 as the college was not fulfilling some conditions under the Punjab State Council for Agricultural Education Act. Due to shortcomings the approval for the BSc Agriculture course was again denied to Brijindra College this year.

Despite protests by the student unions and activists to save the agriculture course at Faridkot College, the state government failed to come to its rescue.

Punjab Students Union (PSU) district president Keshav Kumar said that last year a protest was started by the students and city residents in favour of the BSc agriculture course but some “mischievous elements” sabotaged our efforts due to which the course has shut down in the college.

Hartej Kaur Tiwana, principal of Brijindra College said, “The college is not able to admit students due to lack of affiliation.”

Faridkot MLA Gurdit Singh Sekhon said that he has already sought time to meet chief minister Bhagwant Mann on this issue. “There is a large chunk of land, which belongs to the erstwhile princely state of Faridkot near Brijindra College and discussions are being held to allot this land to the college. Soon a solution to this matter is expected,” he added.