

 ENGINEERING EDUCATION
 IN LEATHER

 A CASE STUDY
 Dr. S. SADULLA

Leather ……..Unique
 Widely & globally traded commodity
 Links rural weak farmer with fashion world
 Current global trade us$80 billion p.A.
 Production by development countries & consumption by developed
countries
 Industry structure complex grid of tiny, small, medium and large scale
units 11
 Supported by small production systems calls for constant technology
innovations subject to competition in export market
 Technology upgradation in industry is phased Education levels in the
sector are rising


INDIAN LEATHER INDUSTRY
 Unique in socio-economic relevance
 Leather craft known since time immemorial
 Traditional technologies. Linked to emerging technologies
 Eighth largest category of exports
 Export realization ($ 3.47 billions) with potential (us $ 7.0
billion) by 2010 – 11
 Employs 2.5 million people. Additional employment
 opportunities to one million people
 200 years of recorded history in leather making
 Excellent potential – economic, export, employment
TRANSFORMATION OF THE INDUSTRY

Academy R&D

Government Industry
Present Indian Leather Sector – A Profile
Ø Largest livestock holding country : 21% and 11% of World Cattle &
Buffalo and Sheep & Goat population
Ø Global output of Leather – 10%
Ø Annual production value – US $ 6 Billion
Ø Export growth (CGAR) 12.29% (last 5 years)
Ø About 2.50 million workforce (30% women) from weaker section of
society
Ø A share of 2.62% in the global import trade value of US $ 116.55 Billion
during 2006
Ø
Present Indian Leather Sector
A Profile

Ø Industry fully alive to occupational safety and work environment

requirements and strives to reach the standards required.
Ø Meticulous concern for consumer safety, especially with reference
to presence of residual chemicals in the products/.
Ø Compliance to environmental standards, prescribed by respective
Pollution Control Boards of the country.
Ø Enormous potential for future growth (domestic as well as export).
Ø
 Own raw material Raw material has premium position
2 billion sqft leather produced/year

Strength
Eco-sustainable tanning base of Indian Leather Sector
Modernized manufacturing unit

HRD support and

Skilled 7 trained man power
R & D activities
Government Support – Policies
 The entire leather sector is now de-licensed and dereserved, paving way for
expansion on modern lines with state-of-the-art machinery and equipments.
 Technology inflow and foreign direct investment (FDI) actively encouraged.
 100% FDI and Joint Ventures (JV) permitted through the automatic route; no
special prior permission is required for JVs or FDIs.
 100% repatriation of profit and dividends is allowed if investments are made in
convertible foreign currency. Only a declaration to this effect to the Reserve
Bank of India is required.
 Promotion of 4 exclusive leather industrial parks (One each for leather, leather
goods, footwear and footwear components) have been planned in the 11th
five year plan (2007-12).
 Funding support for modernizing manufacturing facilities during Tenth Five
year Plan period (2002-07) is extended during the 11th plan period.
 Funding support for establishing Design Studios is envisaged in the 11th plan.
 Duty free import of all types of raw materials and duty free import of
embellishments and components under specific scheme are available.


“ It is estimated that about Rs. Nine Crores worth raw



hides is annually exported from India and much of it is

returned to her in the shape of manufactured article.
This means not only a material but also an intellectual
drain. We miss the training we should receive in
tanning and preparing the innumerable articles of
leather we need for daily use”


 - Mahatma Gandhi (1934)




 STEPS FORWARD

Add values to raw hide &1956-57

skin :Rs 290 million
New job creation
Realization and Planning Upgradation 1991-92:Rs 30760 million
Additional income to worker
Develop value added products
2006-07:Rs 135000 million
Needs for Training

 Need to nourish and enhance the level of best technology

practices through education and training felt
 Primary Level --- ITI
 Secondary Level -- Polytechnics
 Tertiary Level -- Professional course

Engineering Profession

“The main goal of science and its applications is the betterment of society”
- Thomas Jefferson
Technical Education
ü HRD needs at the tertiary level
ü Covers both training of technician and education of technologist
ü Technological education
ü Training of engineers for management of industry
ü Practical instruction in the skills for day to day operation
ü No rigid compartmentalization
ü Technical courses include basic sciences
ü Technological education include vocational training
ü Proper blend of theory & engineering programmes


ü
 History of Education

LEATHER CRAFT AS OLD AS MAN

MODERN LEATHER TECHNOLOGY TRACED TO
LATE 19TH CENTURY
H.R. PROCTER …. APPLYING CHEMISTRY TO TANNING (1891)
(LEEDS) CATHERINER VIRGNON VON SCHRODER ERITHNER

“Science brings in exciting changes in leather making modern leather technology throws

open many exciting & challenging problems & careers to minds willing to take them”
Leather Education in India
Ø Recent origin
Ø Corresponds to period of organized leather manufacture
Ø E.I. company helped organizations of vegetable tanning as an export
oriented industry
Ø World war I responsible for setting up of schools in leather for training of
technicians for supervision of bulk production of army requirement
Ø Training institutes in Chennai, Kanpur, Kolkata, Agra, Jalandhar, Mumbai
and Hyderabad.
Ø Take care of secondary level education in leather
Existing Institutional Mechanisms for HRD in Leather
Sector
 Aims of technical education systems vary from country to country depends on
 Available
 Degree of mechanisation
 Modernisation & sophistication
 Socio-economic conditions
 Aims change with environemnt
 change within the system itself
 Aim to provide
 adequately trained manpower
 To make the industry productive
 There are
 8 polytechnic colleges ….. 400 students
 4 professional colleges … 150 students
 2 professional colleges … 15 pg students
 1 footwear design & devpt. institute …. ? pg management studnets
 2 design fashion institute ….? fashion designers

 ITI s PROVIDE CRAFTS MAN TRAINING
SCHEME

A NEW MODEL IN PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION

LAUNCH OF B.TECH PROG. – UNIVERSITY OF
MADRAS ESTABLISHMENT OF CLRI
 LEATHER ENGINEERING
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION
Ø History Of Over 60 Years
Ø Guided by the philosophy – technical education pre – requisite for
development of indian leather sector
Ø Education – an investment in human capital in the same way as the
purchase of a machine represents investment in physical capital
Ø Social investment rather than a private investment
Ø Shift In Perception With Globalization
Ø GATS (general agreement on trade services) classifies education under
“international trade category”

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

Environmental Protection Economic Development Social Development

Global Opportunities in Leather Engineering
Education

Ø Limited
Ø India, Bangladesh, Turkey, Sudan, UK, Spain,
Romania and a few more offer leather education
Ø Need for strengthening education
Ø
Issues in Education
Ø Quality education
Ø Pedagogy
Ø Quality research
Ø Healthy academic ambience
Ø Excellent teaching standards
Ø Basic laboratory and pilot tannery facilities
Ø Cross-disciplinary demands/interfaces between
disciplines
Ø Internationalization of leather education
Ø Industry – institute interaction

Typed of Education relevant now

Ø
Ø Is it teacher – centric one?
Ø Is it learner – centric one?
Ø Is it industry – specific one?
Ø
 What is required is a judicious combination of all the
three, which is society – centric
Pedagogy

Ø Traditionally centered around lectures

Ø Popularity of e- learning methodologies
Ø Use of web based information
Ø Educational modules on the internet
GATS

“ GATS” classifies education under International trade Category



 Manifestation of internationalization
Ø People mobility
Ø Programme mobility
Ø Institutional mobility
Ø
Needed:

 Curricula with international orientation in context

equivalency between education models in different countries
Ø Paradigm shift in placement
Ø Manufacturing industry losing to IT
Ø Why migration?
Ø Deciding factor :
 Respect or Recognition
 or
 Passion for Profession
Ø How to motivate?