Ingenieur Vol 62 April-June 2015 Ingenieur Vol 62 April-June 2015 | Page 31

right’ concept of ‘democracy in education’ as against the old belief in ‘elitism in education’ (that breeds win-lose exclusiveness trade). Outcome Based Education and KSA: Democracy in education need not necessarily be inferior to elitism in education. This is especially so when an Outcome Based Education (OBE) [with measurable objectives and outcomes] is adopted to attain Bloom’s Taxonomy of KSA (learning) domains in a triangulated Quality based System Framework which aims to produce wholesome graduates motivated/ inspired to pursue ‘self directed and life long learning’ with targeted attributes. [e.g., for WA, 12 attributes have been determined]. These should be coupled to CQI and OFI to ensure ‘the bar can be raised - incrementally’ to be in tune with the demands of the prevailing state of the art for SET services thus remaining relevant. ●● Then there are Repair, Overhaul & Maintenance Services: ●● SET professional services need not necessary be for ‘design and construct only’ – they are also/often employed for Repair, Overhaul and Maintenance (ROM) services; to keep assets at optimum condition for safe and efficient performance. Summary and Conclusion: ●● In summary: the three accords under IEA form the accreditation benchmarks for ESPs of an engineering team trained to perform SET Professional Services: Engineering Services (CPC 8672) and Integrated Engineering Services (CPC 8673); together with a third set of services as in: Construction & Engineering Services (CPC 511 to 518). These three sets of SET services are necessary for various other SET sectors such as; Communication Services, Environmental Services, Transportation Services, Energy generation and distribution services, etc. ●● The three accords are for Trade in Services. Trade, especially free trade must be inclusive instead of exclusive. Therefore any MRA (as part of National Treatment for an FTA) being framed (or already framed) should cover all members of the engineering team who collectively go by the term ‘ESP’. ‟ Engineers realised when engineering services are traded; the qualification and experience of the natural person, the engineer, providing the services matter. ACRONYMS AEC ASEAN Economic Community CBTS Cross Border Trade in Services CQI Continuous Quality Improvement DA Dublin Accord ESP Engineering Services Professional FTA Free Trade Agreement GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services. GATT General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade IEA International Engineering Alliance/ Agreements. IHL Institutions of Higher Learning KSA Knowledge, Skill, Attitudes MPFTA Malaysia-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement OBE Outcome Based Education OFI Opportunity for Improvement PRA Profession R VwV