The Hindu : Front Page : Many join IFS from Forest College

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Sunday, Jun 17, 2007
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Many join IFS from Forest College

Amutha Kannan

Though the most-sought-after competitive examinations seem to be for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and the Indian Police Service (IPS), Forest College and Research Institute at Mettupalayam motivates its students to prepare for the Indian Forest Service (IFS) from the day they join the institution.

A constituent college of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, it has the unique distinction of giving 66 talented forestry graduates to the IFS in 13 years. From the 35 IFS officers who got selected from all over India in the 2006 batch, five are from the Forest College. The first rank holder is also from the college. There have been times when 10 students from the college have got through in the national selection.

R.V. Karnan from Karaikudi, a B.Sc. forestry student from the Forest College, bagged the top slot in the IFS. Says Karnan: "There were 35,000 applicants from all over India. From my college there were some 120 who attempted the examination. Out of the 35 finalists, five were from my college. This did not come as a surprise. It is a common feature here every year."

Says K.T. Parthiban, Associate Professor, department of forestry of the college: "Our students are unable to write the IAS or IPS examinations because forestry is not included as a subject. So we encourage them to prepare for the IFS examination. We re-design the curriculum every now and then to include the latest inputs we derive from our alumni who work in the field." "There are 15 forestry colleges in the country. But ours is the only one with the maximum number of IFS achievers," he adds.

The college has written to the Union Public Service Commission to include forestry as a subject in the IAS and IPS examinations. Agriculture is a subject, while forestry is not.

Once they clear the IFS, the successful candidates undergo the customary two-year probation period at Dehradun, before they get posted as Assistant Conservator of Forests. Then they become District Forest Officer and move on to higher posts.

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