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By Ma. Margarita Z. Sandejas, Special to The
Manila Times
Department of Science and Technology (DOST)
Secretary Estrella Alabastro told The Manila Times the Philippine
government is doing what it can to create a larger pool of science
professionals engaged in research and development.
For years the country’s educational system has
been among the world’s largest producers of college graduates. But
it is also among those that graduate the least scientists and
engineers.
Secretary Alabastro, in an interview, talked
about how the country is working its way toward achieving its
21st-century goals.
“We have to get to the root of the
matter and move forward from there,” referring to the ills holding
back the development of science and technology these past 50 years.
Collaborative efforts have been slightly successful in mitigating
those problems, but the scarcity of basic information required for
industrial development, the small percentage of trained specialists
and the lack of public awareness of and interest in S&T, she
said, still have to be resolved.
She said it was a pressing matter to disseminate
S&T awareness to the average Filipino through formal
education or other media. Having the general public aware will
also mean lawmakers and local government officials would have to go
along with their constituents in seeking to advance S&T
development in the country.
Alabastro told The Times that as a
government-mandated agency tasked to foresee S&T development on
the national level, DOST must prioritize S&T undertakings,
particularly in the research and development areas.
“In fact, it is not a matter of budget
allocation at all,” she said, “because the President has been
very supportive and has given a huge amount for scholarships in
these fields. It has more to do with deciding which projects are
more important, requiring more work and focus.”
One of DOST’s main thrusts is the Engineering
Research and Development for Technology (ERDT), a project granting
scholarships to engineering students on the masteral and doctorate
levels. Alabastro told The Times that for 2008 alone, the government
allotted P1.2 billion for ERDT.
The Accelerated Human Resource Development
Program (AHRDP) of DOST in turn provides scholarship grants in
science courses also on the graduate levels. The allotment for AHRDP
this year is P175 million.
ERDT sees scholars through seven schools, namely
the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, De
La Salle University, Mapua Institute of Technology, Central Luzon
State University, University of San Carlos and Mindanao State
University-Iligan Institute of Technology.
As for the undergraduate levels, the government
allocation for DOST scholarship grants in science oriented courses
this year is P316 million. “This,” Alabastro added, “is to
provide financial assistance to poor but excellent students
specializing in the fields of science and engineering.”
Although Alabastro lamented that it would be
advantageous to have a higher overall budget to address the low
expenditure for S&T research and development, she said the
President has already expressed great concern for this by upping the
budget of P350 million per year normally given to this sector to
P750 million in 2007 and P1.8 billion in 2008.
“These,” Alabastro stressed, “are
significantly positive developments in themselves. But there are
more requirements for us to fulfill in order to move up and we
cannot do it in one shot. It’s a gradual process.”
Part of this “gradual process” Alabastro
told The Times is the recent construction of the Science complex,
which has begun at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
Meanwhile, a budget allocation of P838 million is dedicated to
building an Engineering complex, also at the UP for which the
blueprint has already been accomplished.
“We use the funds given to us by the
Philippine government for leveraging,” said Alabastro. By this,
she means allocating larger amounts of the funds to more
consequential and highly productive pursuits such as the empowerment
of R&D human resources through comprehensive training and the
development of R&D infrastructure.
“On DOST’s part, it has to be a very
determined and continuous effort. This is a long-term project that
can only be achieved through a collaboration of efforts.”
Alabastro added that enhanced scientific and
technological competitiveness can only be attained through building
up capabilities and the intervention of the education sector, but
there has to be the element of the average Filipino’s genuine
interest in S&T.
The Science Education Institute of DOST exists
to promote a scientific culture among the Filipino community. Its
chief intent is to increase the interest and knowledge of the
ordinary person in S&T, for him to appreciate science as part of
his regular existence. “Not merely as a profession,” Alabastro
told The Times.
DOST has been drafting teaching modules in Math
and Science, incorporating them recently into the curriculum in
public schools, a joint effort with the Department of Education.
They have also developed computer-based teaching modules in Math and
Science, making them available to students in public schools.
DOST training programs for teachers in Math and
Science in both elementary and high-school levels have also been
initiated in collaboration with DepEd.
As part of its 50th-year anniversary and in line
with the short-term goal of emphasizing the importance of S&T
studies in the country and the long-term objective to boost research
and development, DOST is recognizing outstanding science educators
in all levels this year.
Alabastro told The Times that amplifying our
country’s capabilities in S&T will take time and an almost
herculean effort. But given the support of the government, the
people and the major institutions, making the Philippines reach the
scientific progress of more advanced economies is within reach.
The government, Alabastro said, is on the right
track, focusing its energies on infrastructure, manpower and
R&D.
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