Bhubaneswar: Higher Education and Agriculture Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo presented certificates Friday to five students from different departments of OUAT. The students have been selected for training at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines
The students will be travelling to Philippines under a World Bank- funded scheme. They will leave from here October 12 and return October 17.
OUAT Vice-Chancellor Pawan Kumar Agrawal said that the funding of the students by the World Bank has been done through the IDP-NAHEP programme. For this programme, the World Bank has provided funds to the tune of Rs 25 crore. “We will send 75 students in future to other countries as well and will also bring foreign faculty to our institute to guide the students according to international standards,” Agrawal said. “We have also signed MoU with Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya (IGKV) for innovative research programmes,” Agrawal added.
Minister Arun Kumar Sahoo said research and exchange of students and faculty to different universities across the globe will be beneficial for all.
The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has formulated an ambitious five-year project starting in 2017-18 to raise the standard of agricultural education in India. The aim is provide more job opportunities to students and to encourage entrepreneurship in them.
Under the Institutional Development Plan (IDP), the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) revolves around enhancing the educational relevance and quality. IDP would be linked to performance and quality enhancement.
These universities would then become a model for guiding the ICAR to introduce reforms in other agricultural institutions. It is also proposed to build up a strong faculty across all agricultural universities to enhance the quality of agricultural education in India.
PNN