New Delhi: In a startling revelation, it has come to the notice that the Agricultural Universities (AU) are running short of 37 per cent researchers as out of the total 33,686 sanctioned posts of agricultural researchers, 12,576 positions are vacant.
According to the information given by Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha, agriculture, including agricultural education, is a state subject and filling up of the vacant positions in State Agriculture Universities (SAUs) fall under the purview of respective state governments.
In reply to a question raised by Navneet Kaur Rana, who represents Amravati parliamentary constituency in Lok Sabha, the agriculture minister said, "As on July, 2021, the total number of sanctioned posts in all agricultural universities is 33,686 and out of which 12,576 positions are vacant."
However, time to time accreditation is carried out by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) through National Agricultural Education Accreditation Board, wherein it is stressed upon to fill the vacant positions for award of accreditation, the minister said in a written reply.
"The ICAR, which works under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) in the Agriculture Ministry, is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country," he said. Notably, there are over 65 agricultural universities in the country and vacancy of researchers has badly affected the research and development works.