FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

My dear readers of Journal of Extension Education,

It is with great pleasure that I assume the role of Chief Editor of Journal of Extension Education (JEE). My appreciation and respect for the Chief Editors of JEE, who have preceded me, since its launch 26 years ago, in 1990: Dr. K. A. Ponnusamy, Dr. J. Oliver, Dr. R. Vijayaraghavan and Dr. H. Philip.

It is indeed an honour to follow in the footsteps of Prof. Philip who served as the Chief Editor of this journal for the last 18 years and has now moved on to become the President of Extension Education Society. Thanks are due to Prof. Philip for his tireless commitment to make JEE a reputed journal, as it appears today. Among his many accomplishments, during his long tenure, Prof. Philip had ensured that the journal is published regularly, without a break, even while facing several challenges along the journey. I am indebted to him for allowing me to work alongside him during my tenure as Associate Editor, which helped me to gain a greater understanding of the nuances of editing JEE. I am sure I would appreciate and seek his continued guidance as I begin my tenure as the Chief Editor.

Well. We now have an editorial board in place with accomplished scholars in their fields from India and elsewhere. Their knowledge and experience are essential to uphold the professional standing of the journal and I sincerely look forward very much to work with them for the years to come. We also have five committed Associate Editors.

In line with our objective to improve the visibility and impact of JEE, we have gone online with the help of OJS (Open Journal Systems). You can now access JEE at www.extensioneducation.org. With this development, we are now in an excellent position to further improve the quality of journal output. We have also switched over to APA style of referencing. The manuscript submission and review process has also been changed from a mail/hard copy procedure to an electronic process, after going online.

Very soon, JEE will be indexed in DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) and other reputed abstracting/indexing agencies. Special issues of JEE on current topics are also in the offering.

This JEE issue is dominated by articles on Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) which I hope would make an important contribution to furthering our understanding of the role played by these grass root-level institutions in agriculture and rural development.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the previous editorial team members for their sincere commitment to maintain the tall standards to which JEE aspires. I also thank the outgoing office-bearers while welcoming the new office-bearers of Extension Education Society.

With the earnest support of Extension Education Society, TNAU, Editorial Board members, Associate Editors, reviewers and authors, I see JEE going from strength to strength, firmly positioning itself within the top five journals in Extension Education, globally. I invite JEE readers to keep in touch with us with questions, comments, and suggestions by emailing at editorextension@gmail.com.

D Puthira Prathap

Chief Editor