Challenges: Training masons
and inspectors in safe school
construction
In 2005, the MoE and MoPW organised a massive
cascading training program to teach hazard-resistant
construction techniques to their government engineers.
These engineers then taught or supervised thousands of
contractors and masons at the district level. Amid other
DRMP activities, it took a few years to complete the training.
In the process, the state government had to deal with a lack
of knowledge and the staggering breadth of construction.
TRAINING
Consultant groups Orissa Development
Technocrat’s Forum and PK Das hold
workshop at the state headquarters.
TRAINING
Train approximately 300 engineers,
architects and department staff at the
state government level.
DISPATCH
OVERSIGHT
10,000 masons
were then trained to
in seismic-resistant
construction
techniques
Two trained engineers and primary
education officers from the workshop are
dispatched to each district where schools
are planned to act as master trainers.
TRAINING
Master trainers train about 800 engineers
and other education officers at the district
level to perform construction oversight.
was only constructed to the window level and was left in
the community as a reference for masons to recall what
they had learnt. During the training, masons were paid their
daily wages. Because of the scope of the project, only one
or two masons were trained for each school construction
site. However, they were able to pass their newly acquired
knowledge to other masons working with them.
Tight quality control
Construction was overseen by trained engineers and
implemented by the trained masons. Masons and a
school oversight committee knew the stages that required
engineering inspection, the criteria for approval, and the
tests that would be conducted to ensure quality. Engineers
monitored the masons as they poured the foundation, casted
earthquake ring beams and placed the roof.
Yet with so much knowledge transfer over such short time,
the Uttar Pradesh Government knew the application of the
new techniques would be inconsistent and would need
further oversight. To solve this problem, the team created
a wordless manual with very simple pictorials to show
villagers what should be present at the foundation and sill
levels. The manuals also showed community members
how to determine the quality of cement. Then, the village
head was issued pre-stamped postcards with a checklist
of poor construction practices. If there was no problem, the
village head would send nothing back. But if the government
received a postcard, it would immediately send a trained
inspector to determine whether a mistake had been made.
When Uttar Pradesh changed its school design to
incorporate seismic-resistant features, the state needed
to train masons in the new practices. Five-day trainings
that included practice on a mock building taught one or
two masons for each new school site how to construct
earthquake ring beams in the walls. These trained masons
then spread the knowledge to other masons on the
construction site. Photo: Sanjaya Bhatia.
UNDP hired the consultants ODFT and PK Das to lead fiveday trainings for masons in communities where new schools
were to be constructed. The first portion of the training
was a lecture to introduce masons to hazard-resistant
construction and show them new techniques for earthquake
safety. The latter portion of the training was the application
of all-new, hazard-resistant construction techniques on a
mock building, giving the masons a chance to translate the
abstract theory into tangible practice. The mock building
By 2007, the state government had constructed 6,500
seismically safer schools and 40,000 additional classrooms.
Programs of this scale only manifest when countries are
attempting to fill large gaps in access to education. Even
though programs on this scale are rare, they can be an
opportunity to infuse new knowledge about hazard-resistant
construction principles into communities and government
agencies.
Key takeaways
• Countries addressing education gaps can institutionalise
hazard-resistant construction into their rollout.
• Cascading training is an effective model for spreading
new, hazard-resistant construction techniques to skilled
tradespeople.
SECTION III: CONSTRUCTION
Through this method, many errors were caught early, and
several buildings were actually torn down after finding
irreversible mistakes. If the constructor simply made a
mistake, it was corrected. However, if the responsible party
was corrupt, the constructor was blacklisted from future
government construction projects.
• During training, new construction techniques need to be
tuned to the literacy level of skilled tradespeople
• Training programs should include hands-on practice so
skilled tradespeople can apply new concepts.
• Postcard monitoring systems can supplement traditional
construction inspection in rural and remote school
communities.
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