www.www.bussiapp.com

[spsvasan at eth.net]

Dear Members

Following are my views on certain aspects of licensing of structural engineers

CRITERIA FOR ISSUING LICENCE:

1) A minimum experience of 7 years for graduates and of 5 years for
post-graduates shall be made essential for getting licence. This much of
时间是至关重要的一个工程师develop adequate practical knowledge
and skills so that he can give correct advice to his clients.

2) But, simply being in a job for 7/5 years is not adequate. To test
whether he has adequate theoretical and practical knowledge, tests become
essential.

There is a large variation in the quality of engineering education in
various universities of India. Hence, one written exam for evaluating
theoretical soundness is essential. This test may be attended by the
engineer any time after his graduation.

A second test should assess his practical experience. For structural
engineers, this could be a day-long test with questions on
conceptualisation of structural systems, one design problem in a special
structure, one design problem in seismic resistance, and detailing problems
in rcc / psc / steel structures. This could be an open book exam. This test
may be attended by the engineer any time after gaining the requisite
experience in the field.

3) Interviews are not suitable for Indian conditions. We lack trained
unbiased interviewers. Our interviewers tend to be either too stringent
(judging others by their own high standards) or too lax (misplaced
kindness). Hence interview results will be highly subjective and will not
reflect the true potential of the candidate.

WHO SHOULD ISSUE LICENCES?

Definitely not the government. The Authority for issuing licence should be
flexible enough to understand and adjust itself to changes in the
engineering scenario. And there should be no room for corruption here.

A new Professional society can be formed for this purpose.

AICTE, ECI, AND THIS SOCIETY

I think AICTE should keep out of this registration issue. The purpose
of AICTE is to improve and maintain the quality of technical education
throughout India. This itself is a Herculean task and AICTE needs to
concentrate its entire energy in raising the standards of technical
education in India to match international standards.

Already ECI appears to be doing a commendable job in getting the engineers
of various engineering disciplines (civil, electrical, mechanical, etc)
registered.
Unless there are glaring and unacceptable shortcomings in ECI's model, we
should proceed parallel to ECI. Certain provisions of ECI can be modified
or new provisions added to suit the particular requirements of structural
engineering profession. United we stand, Divided we fall.

SHOULD LICENSING BE AT NATIONAL LEVEL OR AT STATE LEVEL:

Definitely, licensing shall be at national level only. This is essential to
maintain high and uniform standards of certification. State level
certification may be successful in USA but will not work in the Indian
context.

If licensing is done at state level an Indian engineer may have to register
with several state bodies in order to practise all over India. National
level certification will ensure mobility of engineers within the country.

Another problem with state level or region level certification is that,
different regions will set different standards for registration. If one
region permits lower standards, mediocre engineers from other regions will
start clamouring for similar standards. Result will be watering down of the
standards. We will end up with the situation that any degree holder will be
recognised as a Professional Engineer.

Regards
Srinivasn, S.P.
Madurai

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