ICAR Holds Brainstorming Session on Mainstreaming Agri Curriculum in School Education

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) held a brainstorming session today to discuss how to incorporate the agriculture curriculum into school curricula. It was inaugurated by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. Speaking on the occasion, Tomar stated that agriculture plays an important role in the country and provides a living for a large number of people.

Agriculture is India's strength, and its dominance will continue and grow in the future. In light of this, ICAR has worked to integrate the agricultural world into the new education policy.

The goal of this event is to focus on developing a vocational curriculum, including agricultural science, in order to provide better education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. As a result, a new paradigm will be implemented at the primary, middle, and secondary school levels, with higher-level vocational courses for the development of students and youth in agriculture and allied sciences.

As a result of this brainstorming session, a policy to include agriculture as a subject in the curriculum and provide students with the option to pursue a career in various fields of agriculture will be developed and evolved.

Tomar stated that the agriculture sector has served as a backbone for the country even in difficult times. Despite the Covid crisis, our agriculture sector has recently performed well. In this area, there is a need for continuous improvement, increased investment, and technological support.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wants farmers to prosper by implementing these measures, and the government has taken numerous concrete steps to that end. Agriculture has many dimensions that require collaboration, while challenges have also been overcome at a rapid pace.

To that end, an agricultural curriculum should be included in school education, and there should be continuity in agriculture so that every Indian is connected to it. Tomar stated that if children develop an interest in agriculture beginning in elementary school, they will be able to pursue a career in agriculture after college.

Our farmers are skilled workers by nature. In the current climate, the agriculture sector will generate a large number of job opportunities in the coming years. In this regard, he mentioned the central government's establishment of the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund worth Rs. 1 lakh crore.

Today's brainstorming session included Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary of DARE and Director General of ICAR. Dr. R.C. Agrawal, ICAR Deputy Director General (Agriculture Education), presented the country's current state of agricultural education and the need to bring agricultural education to the school level.

Principals of schools, senior teachers, and other experts, including ICAR, NCERT, and CBSE officials, participated in various sessions to discuss the need for and process of including agriculture as a subject in the school curriculum.

The delegates discussed the required policy level interventions at the State-Center level, as well as the formation of a Joint Working Group of teachers to review the existing curriculum and propose changes needed to improve subject knowledge and teaching skills in agriculture at the school level.

Based on consultations with school education experts, panelists, professionals, and ICAR experts, it is expected that this one-of-a-kind initiative will instill a sense of much-needed change in the school curriculum, preparing students and youth for better agricultural development. This is a necessary step toward creating an AatmaNirbhar Bharat, or self-sufficient India, for our primarily agricultural economy.