Development of Low-Cost, Locally Produced Laboratory Equipment An International Initiative Pramod K. Srivastava Department of Physics, University of Delhi, Dehi 110007, India
Kamalni Sane Department of Chemistry, Daulat Ram College, Delhi 110007, lndia Krishna V. Sane Department of Chemistry, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, lndia David J. Waddington Chairman, IUPAC Committee of Teaching Department of Chemistry, University of York, Heslington, York YO1 5DD, U. K. One of the resolutions a t the Sixth International Conference on Chemical Education held a t the University of Maryland (1)called on international and national organizations thus (2, 3):
(1) Continued efforts ahodd be made to design low cost equipment and to produce new experiments using locally produced equipment and local or less expensive chemicals. It is also important that curriculum development should take into account the problems of the cost of apparatus and chemicals. (2) Initial and in-service teacher training courses should (a) include the design, construction and adaptation and use of locally produced, low cost equipment, and (b) encourage replacing expensive chemicals hy alternative locally produced materials. (3) Particular attention needs to he given to publishing and exchanging information about new experiments employing simple apparatus or local materials. This paper is concerned with one of the responses that are being made by the Committee on Teaching of Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC CTC) ( 4 ) . which has overwhelming.evidence that severe economic constraints in many countries is discouraging nradical work in science a t every educational level and that ihese constraints are becoming acute. I.al,uratory funding is almost stnlic, and basic chemiral instrumentation is becoming so expensive as to preclude its use in many roursei. Routine equipment such as pH meters, conductivity meters, culorimtwrs, ew., are now upward of $200-a price u,ell beyond the capacity of most college budgets in developinp countries. In the last eight vears. the Division ot'Scientific Research and Higher ~ d k a t i o n of UNESCO has organized eight international meetings-three of which have been in collaboration with IUPAC CTC-to promote laboratory teaching in college and university chemistry courses (5).Some of these meetings were in the form of workshops in which university teachers tested and devised experiments which could he implemented in institutions in their countries. Manuals for teachers have been DreDared and ~ u h l i s h e d(6-9).It was logical, then, to look a t ways of making equipment more available for laboratory teaching courses a t this level. Locally produced, low-cost equipment (LPLC) is one answer. As a first step in the program to encourage the development of this equipment, IUPAC CTC corresponded with over 100 chemical educators around the world and searched the literature in an attempt to idmtify insrirutions and individuals in developing countries working in the iivld of LI'1.C equipment a t hizzh-school. colleee. " . and universitv levels. and to seek out those who would he willing to participate in a series of laboratory-based workshops (10).
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Journal of Chemical Education
A Pilot Project IUPAC CTC, in collaboration with UNESCO. initiated a pilot project inOctober 1979 a t the university o f Delhi to develop LPLC equioment. An informal prouo-now known . as t h e - ~ d u t r o n i c i~ r o q - h a s evolved over the last three years to give the project a firm direction. The Group has pinned its hope on modern technology, particularly electronics, which has produced innovations such as integrated amdifiers) that are cheao. versatile. circuits (ex.. . - . ooerational . and long-lasting. That a n operational amplifier he used a s a building block for design of simple equipment has been known for over 20 years ( l l ) , but what has changed in the past few vears is the fact that these c h i ~ are s now either made or avaiiable in the developing countrfies. There are five key factors to the success the group has so far had:
E&
1) We have ensured that the group is multidisciplinary: it has
chemists and physicists, and there are hopes to involve biologists and scientists in other experimental disciplines. 2) The group knows no boundary in experience or status: it has in it academic scientists. technical staff. and students. undergraduate and grsduat~.The potential user has a vital role to play. Some of the rl~vclc,pme~~t work is bring done ns student prole
