Paper presented at the National Seminar on Technical Manpower Development and Utilisation at NIT, Rourkela on 15th

April 2004

The Hands-on Approach as the Essence of Quality in Technical

Education
Dhanada K. Mishra
Department of Civil Engineering
Kalinga institute of Industrial Technology
Bhubaneswar 751024, Orissa
mailto:dkmishra@kiit.org

Abstract: - In todays India quantity rules over quality in almost every sphere of life.
Technical education sector is no exception. It reflects the general trend all around.
Proliferation of technical institutions with mediocre facilities and faculty has brought down
the standard of education dramatically over the last ten years. With engineering graduates
numbering hundreds of thousands and number of jobs not quite keeping pace, we are
potentially entering a very critical phase in the development of the science and technology
sector in particular and the country as a whole. The paper discusses the importance of a
hands on approach to technical education, which has the potential to address some of the
above-mentioned problems through development of an entrepreneurial attitude. On the
one hand such an approach adds to the quality of education by increasing the selfconfidence of students in knowing that ones education is not only all theory, but practically
useful in solving day-to-day problems, while on the other it inculcates a sense for dignity of
labour as well as advocated by Gandhijis Basic Education. This enables the students to
have a wider choice of options ranging from self-employment through entrepreneurial
ventures as well as greater success in finding a job. More importantly such an education is
likely to create a greater sense of satisfaction from ones profession. The paper gives
specific case studies to qualitatively illustrate how such an approach has the potential to be
successful even while working in an under-resourced environment.
Key words: Education, quality, practical, technical, resource, labour, entrepreneurship

1.

INTRODUCTION

The crisis faced by our education system at present is a grave one. One of the critical aspects of this crisis
is the lack of understanding on part of our academic community regarding the importance of hands-on skills.
Technical education to a large extent is about doing things or making things. Thus the know how is as
important or even more important than the know why the latter being the subject of pure science or theory. In
a developing society like ours the technical man-power is the key to the progress of the nation as we need many
more people who can do, build, manufacture, maintain, troubleshoot rather than people who can
explain, theorize, invent and explore. One of our major problems in independent India has been a lack of
clear distinction between these two aspects of scientific and technical education by the people responsible for
development planning. Thus we have produced large numbers of technical manpower that are not very skillful
when it comes to actually dealing with problems that require a hands-on approach which is the case in the field
most often than not.
If we look at the various sectors of our education system starting from primary school to the university
system, we will clearly see that there is a distinct lack of opportunity for our young minds to have the kind of
education that prepares them well for their life after school or college. The focus here must be on exposing the
students to various practical activities with a view to generate interest, curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurial
mindset. While institutions of higher learning such as colleges and universities offering MBA programs can be

Paper presented at the National Seminar on Technical Manpower Development and Utilisation at NIT, Rourkela on 15th
April 2004

justifiably busy imparting entrepreneurship training with all its attendant theoretical paraphernalia, it is the
institutions imparting core technical training such as the ITI, the diploma and degree engineering colleges that
must be expected to create the practical entrepreneurs that are in critical short supply compared to the need of
our society. This is essential if we are ever going to succeed in creating employment at a level required for our
burgeoning ranks of job seekers.
2.

GANDHIJIS BASIC EDUCATION

Whether one is attempting to solve a practical problem or looking for solutions to a vexing social issue, it
is more productive to refer to the ideas of great thinkers of the past, which are still relevant today rather than reinventing the wheel. The origin of formal education in India dates back thousands of years to the traditions of the
Gurukul where the students lived with their masters learning not only the Vedas and Upnishads, but also
getting practical lessons in all aspects of life. Thus although the ancient system was the preserve of the upper
castes, it did have a strong component of physical activities as the setting for such education was typically in the
forests or mountains where the ashram of the master was situated. The English system of education brought to
India by the colonial rulers had it routes in medieval Europe where there was a clear distinction between formal
education and apprenticeship, the former being accessible to the privileged class while the latter to the vocational
workers and artisans. Given the stated objective of the English system of education in India to produce English
educated workers to assist their colonial masters in ruling the natives, there was no place for physical or manual
labour in such a system.
Gandhijis views on education that developed in response to the degeneration of the Indian education
system under the British rule and call for nationalistic education, dominated the first couple of decades of Indias
independence until it was given up as too difficult and impractical. The basic tenets of Gandhijis views on
education were based on self-help and dignity of labour. These two aspects of our traditional education
system was completely destroyed by the British rule focused as it was on creating brown sahibs and clerks to
assist the administration in supervising the Indian subjects. The primary objective of Basic Education was
removal of this stigma and creation of minds that were not only well trained in ideas, but also bodies that were
not reluctant to undertake physical labour. This aspect of our educational system has degenerated to such an
extent that at present only lip service is paid to physical labour in the name of SUPW (Socially Useful
Productive Work) and its many variations in school and the compulsory workshop subject in higher education
in the technical stream. It is easy to see how poor a substitute this is for the original idea. In the language of the
resolutions adopted at the Wardha conference in 1937, which was organized to consider Gandhiji ideas on
Basic Education,
The conference endorses the proposal made by Mahatma Gandhi that the process of education throughout
this period1 should center in some form of manual and productive labour, and that all other abilities to be
developed or training to be given should as far as possible, be integrally related to the central handicraft
chosen with due regard to the environment of the child. [1]
The result of our failure to live up to these lofty ideals is reflected all around when one sees young
educated Indians of all different backgrounds reluctant to take up any work that may have the hint of physical
labour associated with it. The majority would much rather do a mindless job of an office attendant than earn far
more from a skilled workers job such as that of the mason or the carpenter. Similar situation arises in case of the
young graduate engineer who is so helpless in the field that important pieces of work has to depend on the
practical knowledge of the illiterate skilled worker. For example, a mason may control critical aspects of the
structural concreting job on a work site rather than the engineer who has never touched fresh concrete through
out his training at the engineering college.
3.

SOLVING PROBLEMS AROUND US

The above-mentioned handicap in form of our fear of the physical work is mainly responsible for one vital
missing link in our technical manpower. The self-confidence and courage needed to approach any problem and
finding solutions either through trial and error or through analysis is often lacking in our technical manpower.
One vital aspect of such an effort is to imbibe and inculcate a healthy approach to learning that is to have as
1

The conference proposed that free and compulsory education should be provided for seven years to all.

Paper presented at the National Seminar on Technical Manpower Development and Utilisation at NIT, Rourkela on 15th
April 2004

primary objective knowing rather than memorizing, always having an inquisitive mind to try the hands-on
approach. Any thoughtful observer would find a number of problems in our day-to-day surroundings that beg
our attention. In a developing society such as ours it is easy to notice problems in almost every sphere of life. For
example, one can easily notice that the traffic is chaotic on the road with no apparent rules, garbage is often not
cleared by the municipality, electric supply is unreliable, people suffer a great deal during the time of floods and
other natural calamities, utilization of industrial wastes such as fly ash is a big unresolved problems of
catastrophic proportion. Thus the list goes on and on. A properly trained technical person with an entrepreneurial
mindset and hands-on approach would look at each of the above problem and think about the possible solutions
and ask questions such as why do these problems exist, are there solutions, are they financially viable, who
are the customers for a potential solution, if and what price they would pay for a solution be it a product or a
service. From such thinking comes ideas that can one day not only help solve our problems but also be
financially rewarding for the entrepreneur as well as generate employment for many. Most innovative
developments in the history of science and technology have come from such a process. In the field of civil
engineering and architecture the well-known architect Laurie Baker comes immediately to mind as an ideal role
model [2]. His work in low cost housing is not only appreciated for its simple yet innovative ideas, but their
primary source of success was the fact that his approach was hands-on in that he tried most of the ideas in his
workshop before personally supervising their implementation in the field. How often do we see examples in the
field where ideas from the drawing board are not translated properly if at all in their implementation because of
the lack of practical experience on the part of the designer or worse still because of the lack of involvement of
the designer in the practical execution of his idea.
4.

CASE STUDIES

Two case studies are considered in this section to illustrate the advantage of a hands-on approach in
technical education which in this case has the potential to turn a vexing problem in to a solution of immense
future potential, while at the same time creating opportunities to train young students.
4.1

Interlocking Blocks

The problem of fly ash disposal and cyclone resistant housing may not at first seem inter-related. How
ever, if one looks at the problem closely enough, there seems to exist products such as the interlocking pressed
block shown in Figure 1, which makes use of fly ash which is a troublesome waste product and provides one
with a block that enhances the earthquake and cyclone resistance of the building manifold. It is a perfect
opportunity for hands-on training for students in the sense that the machine involved is a simple manual press
(Figure 2) operated by a team of two. While operating the machine to make these blocks and subsequently
building with them, students get the opportunity to study the innovation in the design of the block and its
application. The intelligent use of material ranging from mud to fly ash based concrete mixes are further
opportunities to understand the relationship between material cost, availability and performance. While
alternative building materials such as burnt clay bricks, laterite blocks or conventional hollow concrete blocks
have specific advantages, they all suffer from the lack of innovation built in to the interlocking blocks which
provide for enhanced lateral load resistance, reduced use of mortar for masonry and overall cost economics.
Thus it provides the ideal opportunity for young students of technology to consider it for entrepreneurial venture
at the end of their study.
4.2

Ferro-cement Boats

Orissa is a flood prone state and many of our people have to live with flood year after year. The use of
boats in the countryside is on the wane due to a variety of reasons including widespread deforestation and
resultant rise in cost of timber, lack of good catch in the waterways, reducing need for boats as a means of
transport given the development of roadways and bridges. This causes a major problem at the time floods in that
people have to wait for external help such as the Navy to rescue them or get the essential commodity.
Ferrocement (shown in Figure 3) boats have been around for well over 100 years and have a well-known history
of performance in many parts of the world. It is surprising that this simple low cost technique is not in common
use Orissa in particular and India in general. Thus it provides a great entrepreneurial opportunity as well as
training in the hands-on approach. There are a number of techniques to construct these boats from a variety of
materials. One class of these boats are built out of thin sheets of rich cement mortar reinforced by chicken wire

Paper presented at the National Seminar on Technical Manpower Development and Utilisation at NIT, Rourkela on 15th
April 2004

mesh. It is estimated that with low cost of skilled labour, a ferrocement boat would cost almost half or less
compared to the cost of a timber boat. Another alternative material could be to replace the chicken wire mesh by
jute fiber mesh (old gunny bags) or polymeric fiber mesh (from old cement bags) or even woven mesh made
from bamboo strips. The construction can be by direct plastering of the frame or casting on top of a clay model.
Figure 4 shows a group of students of civil engineering constructing a model ferrocement boat to get a hands-on
understanding of the materials and construction technique involved.

Fig 1: INTERLOCKING PRESSED BLOCKS.

Fig 2: INTERLOCKING PRESSED BLOCK

MACHINE.

Fig 3: PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE OF THE

EARLIEST FERROCEMENT BOATS
BUILT BY LAMBOT IN 1848.

5.

Fig 4: CIVIL ENGINEERING STUDENTS

BUILDING A MODEL
FERROCEMENT BOAT.

CONCLUSION

We face many seemingly insurmountable problems today, which can also be treated as opportunities to
create solutions. We all have a tremendous responsibility in this regard given the impoverished community of
ours. The problem of ever degrading quality in technical education needs urgent attention in light of our
experience in India. Its an opportunity to re-examine the very foundation of our education system. In authors
opinion a predominantly hands-on approach to teaching, research, product development and training etc. at all
levels of technical education has the potential to transform the nature of the exercise as well as the outcomes for
all stakeholders be they students, teachers, parents or the community at large.
6.

REFERENCES

1. Fagg, H., A study of Gandhis Basic Education, National book Trust of India, Delhi, 2002.
2. Bhatia, G., Laurie Baker, Viking, Delhi, 1991.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is grateful for the opportunity to work closely with Mr. Peter Bakos on a number of different
socially conscious technical problems under a project from AusAID awarded to the Association for Indias
Development (www.aidindia.org). The author would also like to acknowledge the management of KIIT for the
patronage provided for these activities as part of the R&D program at the institute and publish the same.