Challenges faced by architectural education

Challenges faced by Architectural Education, affecting the Profession By : Meetali Gupta Every student faces an immense pressure of graduating high school with good grades. In almost all the professions the university of study matters. Though in Architecture, this has now become an obsolete question with students doing bachelors from the upcoming new institutes.

Architecture education is a renowned area of study that explores the built and the non-built environment. Over the years the number of students getting into this field of study has increased fourfold. Challenges faced by architectural education in India are unique. Owing to the era we are in , studying this profession in India has its own pros and cons.

None the less, architectural education in India faces conflicts which affect the students , thereby affecting the profession. Some of these are 1. Architectural Diversity in India

Image courtesy : Pixabay , Kevinthomas URL - https://pixabay.com/en/lepakshi-andhra-pr-pradesh-india-774936/ India has a huge Architectural diversity. The geographical expanse of the country is rich in different types of built heritage . This variety makes it impossible for the system to teach every typology during the limited span of five years.

With no defined curriculum , many aspects of the field are left untouched.

2. Limited hands on experience

Image courtesy : Pixabay , Katrinaknizakova URL - https://pixabay.com/en/body-weight-heritage-the-hands-1955493/ Although Architecture has no defined set of curriculum books, it is still known for the type of written content referred by students and professionals alike. While most of the institutes do specify the books for reference , only a few introduce the students with practical application of the same.

This limited experience is reflected when the fresher steps into the field.

3.Unavailability of Practicing Architects as teachers

Image courtesy : Pixabay , Alex_fotos URL - https://pixabay.com/en/student-professor-uni-books-study-2052868/ The ratio of permanent and visiting faculty is prescribed by the council. Though , this is not followed by many institutes. Most of them prefer to have a certain number of permanent teachers without following the teacher student ratio.

Such a scenario makes the students' exposure and studio discussions more theoretical despite architecture being a practical field.

4.Emergence of architecture institutes with low quality education

Image courtesy : Pixabay , Unsplash URL - https://pixabay.com/en/compass-drafting-tools-design-691006/ As the demand of institutes imparting bachelor's of Architecture is increasing , there is a huge rise in the number of such colleges. Not every college is able to maintain the quality of work.

Owing to the non-restrictive curriculum format , the knowledge gained and skills acquired by the students is not sufficient for them to face the professional difficulties.

5.Long duration of the course

Image courtesy : Pixabay ,Startupstock URL - https://pixabay.com/en/student-typing-keyboard-text-woman-849825/ Perhaps it is not only the course format but the span of the course as well that differs in India.

Countries like Singapore offer an Architecture + Design course of three years. In India though the span still remains five years. With lesser quality of education these extra years just become an obligation to get the degree.

6. Lack of training norms for fresher

Image courtesy : Pixabay ,Janbaby URL - https://pixabay.com/en/lost-found-lost-and-found-searching-1605501/ All the architecture institutes have a mandatory training period of either six or nine months.

Architecture offers no campus placement and the student is thus required to explore the available options and get a position in a firm.

Due to no defined norms by the council for the fresher , the trainee is either not paid for his service or is made to slog during this period.

The current scenario poses some questions which require the attention of Architects , students and the council. With a little awareness the students can make the right choice while choosing their profession. Those already in the field can then look for solutions to make it worthwhile for the upcoming students.