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By Efren Danao, Senior
Reporter
“The creative technical men,
not the meek, will inherit the earth,” Sen. Edgardo J. Angara said
ex-cathedra as he stressed the importance of science and technology
in the modern world.
“The global economy is being
spearheaded not by the traditional movers and the old economy but by
creative people and technological innovators,” he added.
Are Filipinos among the chosen
heirs of the earth? Angara shook his head, gave out a wry smile and
answered softly: “No, not yet. We are in the bottom third of the
global competitiveness list of 117 countries. We need to improve our
capacity for innovation if we want to inherit the earth,”
He recalled a remark by a
Singaporean friend that hurt and saddened him but he knew to be
true.
“There is no reason why the
Philippines is still a Third-World Country. You have the talent, the
land area and natural resources, yet you are still in the Third
World. Singapore has none of these but it is a First-World
country,” he quoted his Singaporean friend as saying.
Angara attributed this laggard
status to the Filipinos’ general failure to keep up with the
advancement in science and technology and with social and commercial
progress throughout the world
He has been pushing with moderate success for the use of
improved technology in fishery, more post-harvest facilities, more
investment in research and development and the modernization and
improvement of the quality of education.
“Every day, new things are
discovered, and with the increase in scientific knowledge, there is
a corresponding increase in the demand for educated students. Yet,
the educational system is not designed to meet the demand for
technological or scientific skills” he lamented.
He cited a study by the
Department of Labor and Employment showing that firms engaged in
science and technology would generate 4 million jobs in the next
five years, yet, the educational institutions could produce only 2.7
million graduates from these fields within that period. He believed
that one of the first reforms to be undertaken to make the country
more competitive should be in education.
Angara, former president of the
University of the Philippines and the top legislator on educational
reforms, said that many college graduates—even from excellent
schools—are either unemployed or underemployed despite the high
cost of education.
“We have doctors working as
nurses, teachers employed as housemaids, engineers hired as
draftsmen, and marine engineers functioning as seamen or ship
stewards,” he enumerated.
He noted that while education
enjoys the biggest slice of the annual budget pie, there is still
insufficient fund for the educational fields that matter most in
this modern world.
“The educational system could
give the Philippines a competitive edge if it focuses on math,
science, technology and engineering,” he contended.
He immediately recognized as one
of the biggest problems the lack of competent teachers in these
fields.
“Some 75 percent of Physics
teachers are non-Physics majors. About 50 percent of teachers of
Chemistry, Biology, Math and General Science did not major in these
subjects. It is like the blind leading the blind. No wonder our
students are faring badly in international studies on math, science
and technology!” he said.
Angara, one of the visionary
leaders of the country, has gone beyond criticizing what is wrong
around him to proposing how to make things better.
He has conceived of a program to train abroad the brightest
and most promising Filipinos on
science or technology “to provide the Philippines with a
continuing supply of highly trained leaders for industry, research
and academe.”
He noted that while existing
local and overseas scholarship and training programs have produced a
sizeable number of high-level professionals for the country, these
programs have also resulted in a significant brain drain.
“Some of the returning scholars
have not found the opportunity to use their acquired knowledge and
training to the maximum, so many of them leave the country in search
of greener pastures abroad,” Angara said.
He believed that the returning
fellows could be put to maximum use by providing them with an
office, laboratory, library and conference facilities for their
continuing activities .
However, his most impressive and
most ambitious work in seeking to enhance Philippine competitiveness
is the creation of the Commission on Science, Technology and
Engineering (COMSTE). He authored the law creating this commission
and is now its co-chairman with Rep. Joseph E.A. Abaya of the First
District of Cavite.
“COMSTE will make a
comprehensive review and assessment of our state of competitiveness
in math, science, engineering and technology. It will recommend the
road map for the next 10 to 15 years that will reinvigorate science
and technology and make the Philippines more competitive
globally,” Angara explained.
COMSTE, with a budget of P10
million was formally organized in February. To speed up its work,
Angara and Abaya decided to form different panels that would
concentrate on areas where science and technology matter and are
urgently needed in the Philippine setting—food and agriculture,
energy and environment, information and communication technology,
basic science, math and engineering education; health.
The panels will make their
initial recommendations on June 11 but Angara estimates that it
would take up to two years for COMSTE to complete its work.
“The time is overdue that we
undertake a comprehensive review and assessment of the state of
competitiveness of the nation’s math, science, engineering and
technology to stem the decline of our most precious resource—our
people,” he urged.
He is confident that with
enhanced technology through COMSTE,
there will no more questions like that of his Singaporean
friend on why the Philippines is still a Third-World country despite
its abundance in talent, area and natural resources.
“COMSTE will put math, science,
technology and engineering on the right footing so that the
Philippines could adequately face the 21st century,” Angara
predicted.
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