Professional Societies and Education

Part of the overall development and progress in the chemical industry is dependent on the education system and the activity of the professional societies associated with it. 

Another group that plays an important part in development of the chemical industry is the ICMA. The awards given by this group were discussed in the previous section. 

The education problem in India is vast and complicated. In 1977 there were 625 million people in India, with an annual increase of 12-13 mil-lion/yr. The age distribution is heavily skewed toward the lower ages which constitute about 42% of the population (II). Those of college age represent about 17% or 106 million persons. There are 118 universities with a total enrollment of about 3.2 million (R2). There are 32 chemical engineering departments with an annual capacity of 1400 students (in contrast to 8 departments with a 200-student capacity in 1948). Thus, only about 7000 students are chemical engineers—a very small fraction of the students in the colleges and universities. 

A Chemical Engineering Development Center was set up in Madras in 1971 by the Ministry of Education. The center has developed and published a suggested first-degree course in chemical engineering. 

Another area under development is continuing education or collaborative education, also described later. Great effort is being expended to make the education fit the needs of the developing Indian chemical industry. 

---