INDIAN AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS RESEARCH INSTITUTE

(I.C.A.R.)

Library Avenue, Pusa,New Delhi 110012

National Information System on Agricultural Education Network in India

(NISAGENET)

Proceedings of the Workshop on 'Sensitization cum Requirement Analysis for NISAGENET' organized at M.P. University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur , Rajasthan during 17-18 May, 2005

1. Introduction
2. Inaugural Session
3. Workshop Session
4. Recommendations emerged from the workshop
5. Press Release


Introduction

National Statistical Commission (NSC-2001) and the Department of Secondary & Higher Education of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India recommended that educational statistics related to agricultural education should be regularly compiled by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India on an annual basis and a mechanism for the purpose be established. Such statistics are needed for various policy and planning purposes for the educational and manpower planning in the country. To cater to such requirements, a project, 'National Information System on Agricultural Education (NISAGENET)' has been approved by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under its AP Cess Fund Scheme. The project is being executed at the Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute (IASRI), New Delhi . The project started on 1st January 2005 .

For implementation of the technical programme of the project, it has been proposed to organize two days workshops on ‘Sensitization cum Requirement Analysis for NISAGENET' at four locations to cover all the 42 participating organizations that includes State Agricultural Universities, ICAR Deemed to be Universities, Allahabad Agricultural Institute Deemed University, Central Universities and the Central Agricultural University, Imphal. The proposed schedule for the workshops at different locations is as follows:

 

S.No.

Name of host organisation

Proposed dates for the workshop

1

Rajendra Agricultural University, Samastipur, Pusa-848125, Bihar

28-29 April, 2005

2

MP University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur-313001, Rajasthan

17-18 May, 2005

3

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu.

25-26 May, 2005

4

Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi - 110012

07-08 June, 2005


The broad objectives of these workshops are as follows:

·        Sensitization of the policy makers, managers and other administrators about the need of timely providing the information as per NSC recommendations.

·        Establishing Linkages between Coordinating NISAGENET Unit and participating  organizations and their sub-centers.

·        Definition of Data requirements of NISAGENET. 

·        To discuss and finalise the schedules designed for data collection from the basic sources.

·        To discuss the requirement analysis document for possible improvements. 

·        To emphasize on technical support in designing and preparation of annual statistical report publications

·        To emphasize that the Internet connectivity, Computers and manpower assistance be provided by the SAU concerned to the local NISAGENET Unit.

 

The Second Sensitization cum requirement analysis workshop on NISAGENET, for the institutions located in the Eastern region of the country, was organised, at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan during 17-18 May 2005 as per the following programme.

 

17-05-2005

Tuesday

09.30 – 10.00

Registration

10.00 – 11.15

Inaugural Session

·        Welcome address by Dr. H C L Gupta, Dean & Nodal Officer NISAGENET, MPUAT, Udaipur

·        Brief introduction on NISAGENET by Dr. R.C.Goyal, Principal Scientist and Principal Investigator, NISAGENET

·        Address on NISAGENET workshop by Dr. S.D.Sharma, Director, IASRI, New Delhi

·        Inaugural address by Dr. S.L.Mehta,Vice Chancellor, MPUAT, Udaipur

·        Vote of thanks by Dr. Sudhir Jain

11:30 – 13:00

Session I

·        Presentation on Sensitization cum Requirement Analysis for NISAGENET

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch Break

14:00 – 17:00

Session II

·        Data requirement of NISAGENET

·        Discussion on schedules I, II, III designed for primary data collection

18-05-2005

Wednesday

10.00 – 13.00

Session III

·        Discussion on schedules IV, V & V designed for primary data collection

·        Discussion on Requirement Analysis for NISAGENET

13:00 – 14:00

Lunch Break

14:00 – 17:00

Session IV

·        Recommendations and finalization of schedules and Requirement Analysis document

·        Valedictory Programme

Forenoon tea break : 11:15 – 11:30

Afternoon tea break: 15:15 – 15:30


The Nodal Officers from the following universities were invited to participate in this workshop.

  • Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat
  • Jawahar Lal Nehru Krishi Vishwa Vidyalaya, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh
  • Dr.Bala Saheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli,Maharashtra
  • Maharashtra Animal & Fisheries, Sciences University Nagpur Maharashtra
  • Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani, Maharashtra
  • Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri Maharashtra
  • Punjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Akola Maharashtra
  • Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Mumbai, Maharashtra
  • MP University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur , Rajasthan
  • Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner , Rajasthan

    •

    17th May, 2005 Tuesday

    Inaugural Session

     The workshop started on 17th May, 2005 in the morning at 9:30 AM with registration of the participants. The inaugural function and workshop technical sessions were arranged in the conference hall of the Department of Extension Education, MPUAT, Udaipur. The inaugural function was chaired by Dr. S.L.Mehta, Vice Chancellor of MP University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan. The Chief Guest of the inaugural session was Dr S.D. Sharma, Director, IASRI, New Delhi. Dr. H.C.L.Gupta, Dean, Rajasthan College of Agriculture was the organizer of the workshop. The participants were welcomed to the workshop by Dr H.C.L.Gupta. After the welcome address, the participants introduced themselves to the audience. Dr. R.C. Goyal, Principal Investigator of NISAGENET gave brief introduction to the AP Cess funded project, its objectives and the role and responsibilities of participating organisations. The chief guest Dr. S.D. Sharma, Director, IASRI highlighted various key points of the project including National Statistical Commission recommendations and the statistical data requirements of the Department of Secondary & Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Dr. S.L. Mehta, Vice Chancellor of MP University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur , Rajasthan and Chairman of the inaugural session delivered his remarks. The chairman pointed out that the Nodal Officers must be such persons who have all the knowledge of the database of the university and they must own the responsibility of correctness of the information. The chairman also advised to collect the data for only one year initially. Dr Sudhir Jain, Associate Professor proposed the vote of thanks.


    Session I: Presentation on Sensitization cum Requirement Analysis for NISAGENET


    After the inaugural session Dr R.C. Goyal, PI gave a detailed presentation on objectives of the workshop and the need for Sensitization cum Requirement Analysis for NISAGENET project and highlighted the following:


    Recommendations of National Statistical Commission (NSC)

    Data requirements of Ministry of HRD

    Organisational structure network of NISAGENET

    Objectives and information base of NISAGENET

    Establishment and strengthening of Coordinating Unit and Lead Center IASRI, New Delhi with overall responsibilities.

    Establishment of NISAGENET Units at each Participating Organizations and their responsibilities

    Collection and compilation of data on Agricultural Education

    Designing, Development and Implementation of NISAGENET

    Need of Publications of Annual Statistical Bulletins on Agricultural Education in India

    Requirement Analysis including general users, National Agricultural Research System(NARS) Managers and the Ministry of HRD, Government of India's expectations from the NISAGENET

    Finally Dr. Goyal concluded that the NISAGENET system should provide a unified information system for collection, compilation and analysis of information about the activities of the agricultural education system in India . It will be possible to provide all the information as desired by the NSC. Apart from meeting NSC recommendations, the Information related to General aspects & Academics of the Universities, Infrastructural facilities, Budget provision, Manpower employed, R&D activities of all the SAU’s and Deemed universities of ICAR will be made available through a single source of information. From this information system, the Annual Publications and statistical bulletins on Agricultural Education may be published.

    Session II: Data requirement of NISAGENET and discussion on schedules I, II, III & IV designed for primary data collection

    For primary data collection six schedules has been designed by the lead center IASRI to broadly cover general aspects and academic data of the universities, infrastructural facilities in the universities, budget provision, manpower employed and research & development activities. Schedules numbered I, II, III & IV are designed to cover the data for the following items:

    Academic Information - Schedule – I

  • General information about universities & its affiliated colleges

  • Details about administrative heads

  • Disciplines /UG/ PG/ M.Sc. / Ph.D. programs in the university

  • Training programs organised

  • Mode of admission to different programs

  • Strength of students

  • Scholarships and reservations in different programs

  • Placement Cell

    Infrastructural Facilities - Schedule - II

  • Laboratory facilities

  • Lecture rooms

  • Opportunities for improving competence of Faculty

  • Sports/cultural facilities

  • Hostel facilities

  • Library facilities

  • Medical facilities

    Budget Information - Schedule - III

  • University financial receipts from different sources

  • Source-wise income of university

  • Funds allocation to different colleges

  • Details of budget expenditure

    Manpower Information - Schedule - IV

  • Status of faculty members as sanctioned, in Position and vacant

  • Status of technical staff

  • Status of administrative staff

  • Status of auxiliary staff

  • Additional staff requirements

    In this session schedules numbered I, II, III & IV were presented one by one for discussion and valuable comments of the participants. Nine Nodal Officers present from different universities discussed each item of the schedules and provided constructive suggestions for data quantity and quality improvement. The feasibility of obtaining information on the data items was discussed at length. It was suggested that schedules should be accompanied with the illustrative descriptions of the data items and the definitions of terms and concepts used. The suggestions of the various participants were noted down for modifications and inclusion into the schedule.

     

    In this session the following participants (Nine Nodal Officers and four participants from IASRI) actively participated in the discussions and suggestions for improvements in the basic data collection schedules:

  • Dr S D Sharma, Director, IASRI, New Delhi

  • Dr R C Goyal, PS and PI, NISAGENET, IASRI, New Delhi

  • Sh. V.H.Gupta, Scientist(S.G.), IASRI, New Delhi

  • P L Gupta, Technical Officer, IASRI, New Delhi

  • Dr.S.K.Dixit, Professor & Head, Department of Ag. Stat., AAU, Anand

  • Sh. A.K. Rai, Assistant Professor & I/C ARIS Cell, JNKVV, Jabalpur

  • Dr.  P.P.Kolhe, Assistant Professor, Dr. Punjabrao Deshmukh KVV, Akola

  • Dr. K. Pani Prasad, Scientist, CIFE, Mumbai

  • Dr. N.D.Pawar, Head, Deptt. of Ag. Eco., Marathwada Agricultural University, Parbhani

  • Dr. S.M.  Pokhakar, Co-ordinator & Head (Ag. Engg.), Mahatma Phule KVV, Rahuri

  • Prof. P.R. Kolhe, Assistant Professor & I/C ARIS Cell, BS Kokan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli

  • Dr. R.K. Sharma, Associate Professor, Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner

  • Prof. H.C.L. Gupta, Dean, Rajasthan College of agriculture, Udaipur

    18th May 2005 Wednesday

    Session III: Discussion on schedules V & VI designed for primary data collection

    Schedules numbered V & VI are designed to cover the data for the following items:

    Personal Information - Schedule - V

  • Background information

  • Academic details

  • Service particulars

  • Training programmes attended

  • Number of  publications

  • Varieties developed

  • Packages of practices developed

  • Awards and achievements

    Achievements & Highlights - Schedule - VI

  • University academic achievements

  • University  R&D activities

  • Workshops organized and plan to organize in the coming year

  • Seminar/Conferences organised

  • Summer institutes

  • Field demonstrations

  • Women training programs

  • Kisan melas

  • University publications

  • Technologies developed

  • On-going research projects

    In this session schedules numbered V & VI were presented one by one for discussion and valuable comments of the participants. The participants discussed each item of the schedules and put more emphasis on the items included in the schedules and availability of the respective data. They also provided constructive suggestions for quantity and quality improvement of the data. The suggestions of the various participants were noted down for modifications and inclusion into the schedule.

     

    Session IV: Requirement analysis document, recommendations and finalization of schedules:

     

    In this session, Dr. R. C. Goyal made a presentation wherein the expectations and requirements of the users from the NISAGENET were discussed. Broadly three class of users' requirements were discussed as follows:

  • General users' expectations from NISAGENET
  • NARS Management expectations/requirements
  • Government and Ministry of HRD expectations/requirements

    • Under general users' expectations from NISAGENET, it was felt that the system must have the capabilities to provide information as reports/queries on the following items:

                Vice Chancellor

                Deans of Universities

                Registrar

                Director (Research/Extension/Student Welfare/Instruction) of SAUs

    Dean / Associate Dean (Colleges)                 

                Principal of Colleges                      

                Comptroller

                Deputy Registrar

    Under NARS Management Expectations/Requirements from NISAGENET, the system must have the capabilities to provide information as reports/queries on the following items:

    Finally the Ministry of HRD requirements were also discussed. All the participants gave their suggestions for and expectations from NISAGENET. Dr. HCL Gupta concluded the workshop and requested all the Nodal Officers and concerned authorities of their organisations to provide necessary support for basic data collection, development and implementation of NISAGENET. He assured full support in providing data for NISAGENET. Lastly Dr. S.D. Sharma, Director, IASRI, thanked the university authorities and the academicians, faculty and staff for the excellent arrangements made for organising the sensitization workshop at MPUAT, Udaipur. Finally, the Press and Media (Press Reporters from Rajasthan Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar) were also thanked for giving wide coverage on daily workshop activities and importance of NISAGENET in the prominent Daily News Papers of the region.  

    Recommendations emerged from the workshop:

    During the workshop sessions, the nodal officers suggested various requirements for the collection of data. The following recommendations were emerged:

    ·        There is a strong need to sensitize the data source managers (Deans/Registrars etc.) to provide all technical support to the Nodal Officers in providing data as per NISAGENET requirements. This may be achieved by organising orientation programs by the Nodal Officers at their respective universities. 

    ·        DDG (Education) and Director, IASRI may be requested to send letters to the VCs for providing technical support and directing the concerned authorities to provide the necessary data for NISAGENET.

    ·        It was recommended that a letter might be sent to each participating organisations, requesting the concerned authorities to allow one or two associates to work with the Nodal Officer.

    ·        The nodal officers also requested that the fund allocation to their organizations is not sufficient.

    ·        It was also suggested to design separate and independent schedules for collecting the data from university and their affiliated colleges.

    ·        The authenticity of the data must be signed by the Nodal Officer and countersigned by the concerned officers.

    ·        It was suggested that a Search Engine along with reports/query facilities may be developed for the NISAGENET website.

    ·        It was suggested that the website of NISAGENET must provide e-mail addresses of all Nodal Officers, linkages of all participating organizations and the proceedings of all workshops being organised.

    ·        In order to include the information of private agricultural colleges affiliated to other central universities, there is strong need to identify and locate agricultural colleges in different states. Then linkage may be established to collect necessary data by the Nodal Officers located nearer to such colleges. DDG (Education) and Director, IASRI may also be requested to write to private agricultural colleges for providing technical support and data for NISAGENET

     
    Press Releases