Uttar Pradesh: BSc Agriculture graduates wait years for government jobs as agencies ‘lack coordination’

NEW DELHI: Agriculture graduate Shubham Kumar has been asking for “more time” from his parents to secure a government job. Kumar earned his Bachelor's degree in agriculture (BSc Agriculture) in 2021 from Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur. He is among lakhs of agriculture degree holders who are waiting for Uttar Pradesh government to announce a recruitment drive for Agriculture Technical Assistant (AgTA) posts since 2021.

“For the last three years I have been telling my parents that the Uttar Pradesh government will soon advertise AgTA vacancies. I am begging my parents to give me more time otherwise I will be forced to work below my education level and as a manual labourer in cities. Many of my friends are also developing suicidal tendencies and female friends are telling me that they are being forced by their families to get married,” Kumar told Careers360.

Despite several protests by students in Lucknow and Prayagraj, the lack of co-ordination among state recruitment agencies is forcing government job aspirants to put their dreams “on hold”. The agencies – Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) and Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Staff Selection Commission (UPSSSC) – have failed to coordinate the implementation of a Supreme Court order from 2019 which would involve transferring details of 906 candidates. This failure to move information over four years has stalled the entire process. It has been five years since the government has notified recruitment drives for AgTA posts. The last notification was issued in 2018 and the recruitment drive was completed in 2021.

Agriculture students and graduates have been protesting ever since. The Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Students Organisation last protested in August and will protest again in September if recruitment is not announced.

AgTA eligibility and salary

Uttar Pradesh has five agriculture universities according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2020-21. Plus, it has 18 colleges which offer agriculture and allied courses only.

An agriculture technical assistant (AgTA) provides technical guidance to farmers for growing, monitoring and pest management of their crops. AgTAs also advise farmers on how to adapt to new-age agricultural practices. They can play a big role in the central government’s policies towards doubling farmers' income. It is among the most sought-after posts among agriculture degree holders.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC), Prayagraj used to conduct recruitment drives for AgTA. Since 2018, the Uttar Pradesh Subordinate Selection Services Commission (UPSSSC) has been given that responsibility.

BSc Agriculture graduates in the age bracket of 21-40 years who have cleared Uttar Pradesh Pre Eligibility Test (UP PET) are eligible to apply for AgTA posts.

The UPSSSC AgTA selection process has just one stage – the written examination. Candidates who have qualified the PET have to solve a 400-marks question paper carrying 400 objective type questions in two hours. After selection, the minimum monthly in-hand salary for AgTA is Rs 19,900 and the maximum salary is Rs 63,200.

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UPSSSC PET every year

Thousands of students cleared the PET in 2021 and 2022. PET results are valid for only one year. Agriculture degree holders who are aspiring for government jobs in Uttar Pradesh will have to again clear UPSSSC PET 2023 to remain eligible for AgTA posts, if advertised.

Badal Singh (26) completed his BSc agriculture in 2020 and MSc Agriculture in 2022 from Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur.

“I cleared PET 2021 and 2022 and am still waiting for AgTA advertisements. Now I have to again sit for PET 2023 to remain eligible for vacancies.There are only a few exclusive government jobs for agriculture students and most of us focus on AgTA. The state government’s action towards agriculture students is cruel.We are suffering due to lack of co-ordination among state government agencies,” he said.

In February 2023, the state government informed Vidhan Sabha that a total of 37,63,444 candidates had applied for PET 2022 and the government collected Rs 60.91 crore as fee from them. The 2022 scores are valid till January 24, 2024. UPSSSC PET 2023 will be held in October 2023.

Highlighting the importance of government jobs for agriculture graduates, an assistant professor of agriculture of Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agriculture University, Jhansi, said: “There are no jobs in the private sector for agriculture students as they don’t possess desired skills needed in corporate jobs. Most of the students are not able to take coaching to clear big government examinations. Hence, agriculture degree holders have only one option of securing a government job after graduation.” They asked not to be named.

UPPSC Vs UPSSSC: Fight over data

Protesting agriculture graduates have been told the delay is due to UPPSC’s failure to transfer the data of 906 candidates to UPSSSC in a specific format. The origin of this conflict goes back to a round of appointments that began a decade ago, in 2013.

The UPPSC Prayagraj is UP government’s agency for making all entry-level appointments to the group A and group B civil services of Uttar Pradesh. UPSSSC, Lucknow is state government’s agency to conduct civil service examinations for appointments to group C and group D posts.

UPPSC had advertised 6,628 AgTA posts in October 2013, conducted the examination in February 2014 and announced results in May 2015. A section of candidates moved the Allahabad High Court and later Supreme Court alleging violation of reservation rules in the recruitment drive.

In September 2019, the Supreme Court ordered that the 906 candidates who were not issued appointment orders due to change in number of reserved seats be granted age-relaxation as a one-time measure to participate in the upcoming recruitment. These candidates were not required to clear the PET again to sit for the written recruitment exam.

The court had directed the UPPSC to send data of these 906 candidates to UPSSSC so that the latter can allow these candidates to sit in subsequent recruitment drives.

Meanwhile, UPSSSC notified recruitment for another 2,059 AgTA posts in July 2018. The exam was conducted in February 2019 and results announced in September 2020. The recruitment drive was completed in February 2021, delayed by covid. This was the last recruitment drive for UP AgTA posts and candidates are still awaiting for UPSSSC notification for AgTA vacancies 2023.

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Agriculture students protest

Ashutosh Tripathi completed his MSc Agriculture in 2017 from Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya. Tripathi, the national general secretary of National Agriculture Students Organisation (NASO) said: “UPSSSC officials had announced that 3,446 AgTA vacancies will be filled through PET 2021. However, no vacancies were advertised in 2021. Later, they said the vacancies will be advertised after PET 2022 results. After the PET 2022 results, they told us that they are yet to receive data of 906 candidates from UPPSC.”

Under the banner of NASO and Uttar Pradesh Agriculture Students Organisation (UPASO), agriculture degree holders protested at UPPSC Prayagraj and offices of UPSSSC and directorate of agriculture in Lucknow.

“Nearly 200 students held a protest at UPPSC on June 8, 2023. An official of UPPSC told us that they will send the said data to UPSSSC within 10 days. The officials of UPSSSC and UPPSC are not cooperating with each other and our time is being wasted. Both are fooling government job aspirants and playing with our future,” said Tripathi.

According to a report in Amar Ujala, UPSSSC in a letter on August 16 informed the Chief Minister Office (CMO) that UPPSC has not sent the data of 906 agriculture students in desired format causing the delay in advertisement of AgTA vacancies. According to the same report, the UPPSC has already sent the data of 906 students to UPSSSC twice and the same data is being demanded for the third time.

Rishabh Pratap Singh, president of UPASO said, “UPSSSC officials told us that they demanded the data of 906 candidates in hard copy format from UPPSC but did not receive. They told us that the data provided by UPPSC is not in prescribed format,”he said.

Protests and Promises

Students under the banner of UPASO held a protest at agriculture directorate in Lucknow on August 22 demanding advertisement for recruitment of vacant AgTA posts. They demanded the agriculture directorate officials to hold talks with UPSSSC and advertise recruitment.

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“UPPSC has submitted the verified data of 906 agriculture students to the UPSSSC and agriculture directorate. UPSSSC is saying that the agriculture directorate is not cooperating in advertising AgTA vacancies and it will be advertised with your support only. Hence, we request you to hold talks with UPSSSC to remove all anomalies and advertise AgTA vacancies as soon as possible for the bright future of agriculture degree holders in the state,” Singh wrote in a memorandum submitted to the director of UP agriculture directorate.

Singh also spoke to UP agriculture education minister Surya Pratap Shahi. “I have submitted a memorandum to him requesting him to expedite the process of AgTA recruitment. He has promised us to look into it. However, we are still awaiting for the vacancies even after several protests and meetings with officials. We will be forced to hold big protests in September if UPSSSC does not advertise vacancies,” he said.