Rene Q. Bas, Editor in Chief
Manila Times

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.