The Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU), Madurai, can rightly be called the pioneer in biotechnology education in the country. It was the first to introduce a postgraduate course in the subject, in 1985, almost immediately after the National Biotechnology Board (NBTB) introduced biotechnology as a focus area of support. Five universities began formal postgraduate courses in biotechnology in 1985 under the NBTB - University Grants Commission programme of manpower development in the field.

In interview with Frontline, Dr.K.Dharmalingam, Senior Professor and Head of the Department of Genetic Engineering, School of Biotechnology, MKU, attributes the current craze for studying biotechnology to the popularisation of the course in the wake of the industries' interest in the subject. He recalled how the M.Sc. course in Biotechnology met with strong protest in the 1980s, mainly from those not involved in teaching programmes. "Today, biotechnology is included even at the Plus 2 level", he pointed out.

Self-financing engineering colleges in Tamilnadu are competing with one another to introduce B.Tech. in Industrial Biotechnology. Not to be left behind, arts and science colleges offer B.Sc. in Biotechnology is against teaching biotechnology at the undergraduate level.

While "logically there is nothing wrong" in offering B.Tech. or B.E. in Biotechnology, Dr.Dharmalingam said, the MKU discouraged colleges affiliated to it from starting B.Sc. in Biotechnology. Advancing reasons for this, he said: "It is an inter-disciplinary course where you need experts in chemistry, statistics, mathematics, microbiology, botany and zoology". It would be difficult to find experts to teach the subject at the undergraduate level as "biotechnology requires a level of knowledge at the master's level, not at the undergrauate level", he said. Besides, it would be difficult to design curriculum at the undergraduate level. An "ideal" solution could lie in a dual-degree course that lasted four years, he said. For instance, a student could do B.Sc. in Microbiology for three years and do an advanced course in biotechnology in the fourth year. "That is what we are considering", he said.