Architecture Colleges in India Need to Work on the Curriculum

Architecture colleges of India are not in the international leagues.

Architecture of India is one of a kind but the study of architecture is not something that comes to the top.

As per the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) figures of 2016, there are 117 institutes which offer undergraduate architecture courses in India and only 29 institutes for postgraduate. Since, the level of institutes decreases the level of students also decreases.

This year, almost all seats in architecture colleges, offering undergraduate courses in the state were taken, said officials at Joint Directorate of Technical Education in Pune.

But wake up officials just because the seats are filled does not mean that the education level is up to the mark.

"The world has moved forward, but we still are offering the old basic courses. We are far behind in digital architecture," said Dhanashree Sardeshmukh, head of the department of digital architecture in BNCA. "When we started in 2011-12, I had only two students, but today we have a batch of 20 with applications of over 100 being rejected for want of seats," added Sardeshmukh.

Architecture in India was not always this old school. Many studies shows that ancient India was full of ideas and was better than maximum part of the world. Many beautiful monuments were made at that time like Taj Mahal, Rajput and Moghul buildings.

Durlav Chandra Saikia, member of Council of Architecture and also senior architect at public works department of Assam, said, "When it comes to postgraduate courses, the choices are extremely limited. With India moving towards smart cities and infrastructural development, we need more architects who understand the space and environmental constraints and design new-age buildings."

Ahirwar also spoke about the need to have a regulatory body for engineers. "Currently, even engineers are employed as architects and town planners by many municipalities. Even if an engineer does something wrong, there is nobody to take away his licence," he said.

Dona Thomas, a masters student of architecture said, "After I completed my bachelor's course from Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, I was specifically looking for something digital and unfortunately, I couldn't find the course anywhere except in Pune. I think there needs to be a better a curriculum which incorporates all the new trends in architecture."

All the architecture colleges including Council of Architecture (COA) in delhi have failed to make much needed upgrade in the system. According to experts, India is almost 25 to 30 years behind when it comes to teaching and implementing new and digital forms of architecture available all around the world.
So, it is time to pull up your socks India and move forward.