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- An Undergraduate Program for
Construction Education in Bangladesh
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- Ifte Choudhury
- Texas A&M University
- College Station, Texas
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The purpose of the study is to develop an
undergraduate curriculum for construction education in Bangladesh. A standard
Likert style survey instrument was used to gather the data related to the
importance of construction education in the country. This survey instrument
was sent to educators engaged in the teaching of disciplines closely related
to construction and professionals who are involved with the construction
industry in Bangladesh.
The results of the survey were used to analyze the need for construction
education in Bangladesh and abroad category of topics it should encompass.
The data was analyzed by administering one-sample t-tests to the responses for
the corresponding questions on the survey. The results from the study
indicate that it is important to introduce a program at an undergraduate level
in Bangladesh to produce professionals capable of managing the construction
projects effectively and efficiently.
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Keywords:
Bangladesh, construction education, construction industry, undergraduate
curriculum
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- Statement of the Problem
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- Construction Industry in Bangladesh
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Bangladesh construction industry is growing
steadily at a constant rate. Total construction expenditure of the country
has increased from Tk. 100 billion (1.67 billion US dollars) in the early
1990’s to about Tk. 200 billion (3.33 billion US dollars) in 2003. Figure 1
shows a steady increase of the country’s construction output which is
presently over 8 per cent of its GDP (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2004).
Most of the construction works are in the public sector. Funding for a high
percentage of construction projects come from multilateral development
agencies (MDA) like the World Bank or Asian Development Bank.
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The rapid growth in the construction sector
demands an adequate number of professionals with a broad understanding of the
principles of construction science as well as leadership skills in motivating
teams and integrating a wide range of tasks to produce a completed project.
These professionals should be capable of managing the construction projects
effectively and efficiently. Apart from developing skills for logical
thinking, computing, and communication, they must be capable of assuming the
responsibilities for the planning, co-ordination and financial control of a
construction project.
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The duties of a construction graduate also
include the determination of most appropriate method and sequence of
construction operations for a particular project. They must be able to predict
and monitor the construction operations in terms of labor, materials,
equipment, and technical difficulties, and finally timely execution of all
project items. They are responsible for dealing with scores of issues at the
construction site, such as safety of construction operations, design and
engineering of construction systems, and temporary structures. It is also
their responsibility to keep track of progress and quality standards and
ensure that the project is completed on time and budget.
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Figure 1 Share of Construction Sector in Bangladesh GDP
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Construction Education in Bangladesh
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There are education programs at an
undergraduate level in Bangladesh related to specific domains of construction,
such as architecture and civil engineering, but none of the institutions of
higher education in the country offer a course specifically geared toward
producing professionals with an understanding of the total construction
process from the inception of a project to its completion. Only university
that proposes to offer a course on construction education is Prime
University in Dhaka. But the institute
has not yet developed a program for the course. It is, therefore, proposed to
develop a curriculum for construction education at an undergraduate level that
can be adopted by any institute of higher education in Bangladesh.
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A construction education is multi-disciplinary
nature. The curriculum should focus on basic scientific, quantitative, and
qualitative topics that provide a foundation for applied construction
technology. It will be structured on the principles of management,
mathematics, statistics, and the design disciplines applied to the behavior of
equipment, human resources, materials, and methods used in construction.
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Construction Education in Selected Countries
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- USA
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- Construction education is relatively new
in most countries around the world. The discipline is only about sixty-year
old even in the United States, where construction industry accounts for about
10 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product (Nunnally, 2004). Presently,
there are 100-plus U.S. schools that offer four-year baccalaureate degrees in
construction. In order to manage a construction volume of more than $800
billion per year, the country is predicted to have a demand of more than six
thousand construction graduates a year (Bilbo, et al., 2000). The schools of
construction are capable of producing less than half the annual demand for
such professionals.
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- Most of the schools of construction in the
U.S. are accredited by the Associated Council of Construction Education (ACCE)
and some by the Accrediting Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The
programs in construction provide the graduates with a broad understanding of
the principles of construction science, business and management aspects of the
profession, and leadership skills in motivating teams and integrating a wide
range of tasks to produce a completed project (American Council for
Construction Education, 2004).
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- United Kingdom
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- Building science and construction programs
in the United Kingdom are generally geared toward producing professionals who
are capable of providing overall planning, management, co-ordination, and
financial control services for construction projects. The graduates from these
programs are also employed as building control surveyors and services
engineers. They are three-year degree programs.
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- Australia
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- Construction industry in Australia is one
of the largest employers in the nation. Most of the Australian universities
offer undergraduate education in construction to prepare the students for a
professional career in building and construction related industries (South
Australian Construction Industry, 2004). These programs help develop skills in
how to manage people, materials, equipment and plant while focusing on issues
such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment. They are geared toward
educating students to become effective construction managers with
comprehensive technological knowledge, management principles and communication
skills. Like the programs in the US, the Australian schools offer four-year
baccalaureate degrees.
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- Singapore
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The construction industry in Singapore has an
annual gross output of about $10 billion, with a capacity of about $12
billion. The industry contributes around 7 per cent of gross domestic product
(GDP) and accounts for about 6.5 per cent of total employment (Ofori, 2000).
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Universities in Singapore produce construction
graduates who are employed by the government as well as the private
construction enterprises. Similar to many other rapidly developing countries
of the world,
construction in
Singapore also has become a complex production process involving many advanced
technologies. One consequence of this is the need for high caliber graduates
in this discipline to manage the process. The construction education programs
aim to produce such graduates. Professionals graduating from these programs
provide professional advice to clients to enable them to complete their
building projects to meet time, cost and quality targets (Department
of Building, 2004).
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- Subject Matter Requirements for a Construction Education Program
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- The American Council for Construction
Education (ACCE) recommends that a curriculum for construction education
should include academic coverage of some core subject matter that is essential
for a graduate to function effectively in the construction environment
(American Council for Construction Education, 2004). The categories suggested
by ACCE are very generic and broad-based in nature that could be adopted by
schools anywhere around the world. The courses taught under these categories
could be tailored to meet the specific requirements of the construction
industry of the region for which the program will be developed. A study of the
nature of construction education in selected countries around the world also
suggest that most of these programs provide the graduates with a broad
understanding of the subject matter courses under the categories detailed
below.
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- Communications, Humanities, and Social Sciences
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- Construction is concerned with people and
their relationships. Therefore, the ability to communicate, both orally and in
writing, and the understanding of human behavior are essential assets to the
constructor. It includes appropriate courses in communications, social
sciences, and the humanities. The content should reflect the needs of the
construction industry as well as the philosophy of the educational
institution.
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- Mathematics and Science
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- A well-developed concept of mathematics
and physical science is essential for a construction graduate. The technical
process of construction can be best controlled by applying the principles of
mathematics, statistics, and computer science. Moreover, an understanding of
the behavior of materials, equipment, and methods used in construction require
laws of physics, chemistry, geology, and environmental sciences.
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- Business and Management
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- A constructor is required to assume the
responsibility of planning, management, co-ordination, and overall financial
control of construction projects. A construction graduate should have a broad
understanding of the fundamentals of the free enterprise system, accounting,
finance, business regulations, contract law, and labor law of the country, and
marketing. This category also involves fundamental courses to provide a
foundation for contemporary business practices appropriate to applications in
construction.
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- Architectural and Engineering Design Disciplines
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- A construction graduate must have an
understanding of the processes of architectural and engineering design
disciplines. The graduate must be capable of communicating with design
professionals, and should be able to participate in planning phase of
design-build projects.
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- Construction sciences including
architectural and engineering design topics selected to communicate with the
design disciplines and to solve practical construction problems are to be
considered in this category.
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- Construction Practice
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The construction practice curriculum is of
vital importance in a quality construction program. Course material in this
category covers both office and field activities required to complete any type
of construction project efficiently.
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- Study Objectives
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- The objective of the study was to develop
a curriculum for construction education at an undergraduate level in
Bangladesh. In order to develop the program objectively, it was deemed
necessary to find out the views of professionals involved with the country’s
construction industry and faculty members of education programs closely
related to construction regarding:
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