STUDENTS wanting to study agriculture are contacting colleges in the Eastern States because of the uncertainty over Muresk's future.
Parents are refusing to enrol their children in the agricultural course at the Northam campus because of concerns it will close down, forcing students to look at alternative options.
Muresk Old Collegians Association (MOCA) secretary Roy Duncanson confirmed a number of potential students had inquired about studying at Marcus Oldham Agricultural College in Geelong.
"Students are not sure whether Muresk will be around much longer, so they have been looking at other colleges," Mr Duncanson said.
"One second year student wants to leave because he is not confident about the future of the college.
"Parents are saying 'why would I send my child to Muresk if I don't know what's happening?'"
Mr Duncanson said the main issue at the moment was that the agricultural industry was being left in the dark about what was happening to Muresk.
"Out of 7000 Old Collegians we can not find one farmer that has been consulted about anything," he said.
"Our message is that nobody has consulted any of us about what is happening.
"The Cowan report was due in May, it's now September.
"The State Government needs to make a decision now.
CY O'Connor College of TAFE is currently the most likely beneficiary of the campus but there have been concerns about its agricultural qualifications.
At a recent Muresk Old Collegians reunion in Wagin, concerns were also raised over the purpose of the campus if it was acquired by a TAFE institution.
Mr Duncanson said if TAFE was put in control it would be a disaster if industry didn't have a seat at the table to ensure the continuance of agricultural education at Muresk.
Muresk Old Collegians Association vice president Floyd Sullivan said he was also concerned the agricultural industry hadn't been consulted about the future of Muresk.
"From an agribusiness point of view, the main concern is where are our next lot of qualified trained agricultural people going to come from?," Mr Sullivan said.
"It's a big worry for the future of our industry because only 20 per cent of the jobs get filled."
Mr Sullivan, who is the state manager of Australian Independent Rural Retailers (AIRR), said as an employer he looked for qualified employees with a university degree because he didn't understand the concept of TAFE.
"I really don't know what TAFE can offer," he said.
"I have major issues with TAFE because I don't know whether they have industry knowledge.
"As an employer, I will be looking to hire the person with a university degree over a person with only a TAFE qualification."
Mr Sullivan said a decision had to be made now, but parents have already said it may be too late.
"I've had about five calls from parents wanting to know if their children can go to Muresk next year and I just don't know," he said.
"People just don't know where to send their kids, but they need to plan."
Muresk Old Collegian Peter Foley said he had heard of a student being forced to do an apprenticeship after finishing school because, even though he wanted to go to Muresk, there was no certainty about its future.
"He wants to come home to the farm, but there is no job for him to go to," Mr Foley said.
"Who will he work for? What farmers have time to train somebody?
"This is where Muresk is invaluable in that regard."
CY O'Connor College of TAFE's Anna Kennedy said currently CY O'Connor didn't have the qualifications necessary to carry out agricultural courses, but they were in the process of registering them.
Ms Kennedy said they were waiting on the Cowan report to be released before they could do anything.
"Before any organisation can deliver any qualifications you have to be registered and accredit each qualification," she said.
"But we are trying to do that at the moment.
"Things that are in the Cowan report need to be released so we know what type of facilities are needed."
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