Now, CET for agri varsities too

The admissions to the universities of agricultural sciences in the state is set to become more easy with a common entrance test mooted for all the five such varsities in Karnataka. The new norms will come into force from this academic year itself.

A meeting of various officials of the Higher Education department held here on Friday, decided to streamline the admission process into the UASes by introducing the common entrance test.

Karnataka has five UASes - Bengaluru, Shivamogga, Dharwad, Raichur and Bagalkot. Hitherto, each varsity had its own entrance test, counselling, document verification and seat allotment procedure. This had made the admission process cumbersome and time-consuming.

M B Rajegowda, Registrar, UAS, Bengaluru, told Deccan Herald that the objective of conducting the common entrance was to avoid students appearing for multiple tests and attend counselling repeatedly. It would also help in bringing transparency in the admission process, he added.

Even the fee structure will be common for all the universities. The approximate fee for first semester of MSc course is Rs 22,000 and that for second semester is Rs 12,000. The fee for first-year PhD is Rs 25,000 and for second year it is around Rs 12,000.

Rajegowda said that every year around 7,000 students seek admission for the agricultural varsities and most of them were girls. The varsities altogether have 850 MSc seats and 350 PhD seats. The students for the PhD are drawn from all across the country while those for the PG course are selected only from Karnataka.
Rajegowda said that girls were increasingly opting for courses in agriculture and horticulture.

“Around 53% of the students are girls and they are keen on research and field works. The change is because of increased awareness. They have realised that food is the most important of all the sectors,” he added.

Over the years, the varsities have introduced several new subjects such as sericulture, agri-technology, BSc in agricultural engineering, BSc in rural home science and forestry.