|
By Rene Q. Bas, Editor in Chief
Science and technology, a sector pitifully
neglected by government this past half-century, is now at last being
given the importance it deserves (see “S&T sector at last gets
proper funding—P5.29B this year” and “DOST creating larger
pool of scientists.”).
But these new efforts—Agham’s nationalist
economists write—will fail to raise the sector to its proper level
of usefulness to the whole economy—and the poor—unless
government policy that de-emphasizes industrial development in favor
of call-center BPOs and instant-income businesses is reversed
(see “Science and tech development hinges on
industrialization”).
What does it mean to have a fully useful science
and technology sector of a Philippine economy that is globally
competitive?
World-class scientists
It means, among other things, that both
Philippine industry and academe are adequately provided with highly
qualified, world-class scientists, engineers and technicians.
Some of these will concentrate on research and
development—a number of whom will work closely with business and
industrial corporations. Others will be employed by
industries.
Serving industries
This means in turn that science and technology
pursuits, including S&T education, solidly serve not just the
needs of Philippine industries but also that of sustaining
Philippine S&T development.
It also means that one of the defects of the
current S&T situation in our country will disappear—that ivory
tower outlook of many of our scientists in academe. They feel
stained by contact with the world of products to be marketed and
profits to be made.
Theoretical scientists
But there will also be those whose interest in
purely theoretical pursuits in physics and chemistry will be
encouraged. They will get good pay and enjoy working
conditions just like the others whose work produces immediate
pragmatic results.
The youth will be as eager to take science and
technology courses as today the majority of them want to
become TV and movie celebrities.
And S&T graduates will no longer look for
jobs abroad, much less take nursing so they could be hired as
caregivers in the United States. IT professionals, electrical
and electronic engineers will no longer take voice and English
speech improvement courses to be hired by a call center or another
type of voice Business Processing Outsourcing office. (In the
first place, they would already be speaking Good English.)
Jobs here at home
S&T graduates will have jobs waiting for
them even before they actually receive their college diplomas.
Their pay will be equal to what they would be getting if they were
to work in Singapore, China or Europe and the USA.
Today, S&T graduates—unless they are at
least cum laude graduates—will have to settle with a Philippine
entry-level salary of between P10,000 to P15,000 a month.
Abroad, he/she would get at least $500 with allowances and overtime
pay.
There will be no more of the so-called
“mismatch” between the workforce needs of industries and the
quality of graduates produced by Philippine colleges and
universities. (See “Industrialists fret about, investors
deterred by technology brain drain.”)
For the Department of Education and the
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) would have improved the
educational system so well. College graduates would speak and
think in good English as well as in one of our native languages.
Everyone who has finished high school would have a world-class
mastery of essential Science and Mathematics. And S&T graduates,
in whatever field of specialization or branch of science and
technology, can work as peers of the best anywhere in the world. But
the Filipino would normally wish to stay and work here at home.
CHED will no longer ask the reporter of The
Times to submit a letter requesting the statistics needed for this
report.
[Our reporter had gone to the CHED public
information officer with these questions:
“According to the President of the Philippines
and several industrialists, both foreign and domestic, there are
many science/technology-related jobs available in the Philippines
but there are not enough qualified graduates from Philippine
colleges and universities.
“What is CHED’s estimate of this mismatch?
Which areas of work and scientific technological specialization have
the highest number of jobs available that are unfilled because there
are not enough graduates?
“Which S&T specialists are in highest
demand?
“What has been the CHED’s response to this
problem?
“What are CHED’s two main thrusts or
two main programs to increase interest among high-school graduates
in taking up science and technology degrees?
“Has there been an increase or decrease from
2005, 2006 to 2007 in science and technology course enrollment in
Philippines colleges and universities?
“What, according to the CHED’s knowledge, is
the extent of the brain drain—the departure for jobs abroad of
Filipino scientists and technology graduates—per year in 2005,
2006 and 2007?
“What are the problems—from the
biggest/most inmportant to the smallest—concerning this
issue of improving science and technology education in the country
and increasing the number of science and technology tertiary
education graduates ?”
The Times reporter was told to get a letter from
the Editor in Chief addressed to CHED formally asking these
questions. He was not told that executive privilege was
involved.]
Industrialization a reality
In that future and blessed time, science and
technology development will be as satisfactory as or even better
than in any of our Asean neighbors. This is because not only
have Philippine basic industries been resurrected but also new and
advanced industries have begun to flourish in our country. For
Philippine industrialization has at last become a reality!
Science and technology education would have a
place for experimentation outside academe and for
apprenticeship—the laboratories of actual industry. And
S&T education would have an end—good jobs in industry or in
academe.
|
