The board has decided to allot seats for BTech in food and agriculture technology to only those Std XII science students who have passed mathematics.u00a0Officials from the Maharashtra Council of Agriculture Education and Research (MCAER), which controls the agriculture universities in the state, said that till the last academic year, students passing HSC in science faculty were qualified for the courses, but from the academic year 2013-14, the students will have to pass the HSC examination in science faculty with maths as a mandatory subject.u00a0

“Till last year, science students passing without mathematics were allowed admission to the food technology course, but it was discovered that the BTech food technology course included several engineering-related subjects, for which it is necessary to pass maths for acquiring admission to the degree course,” said an official from MCAER.