The Hindu : Saving science for our future

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 20, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Leader Page Articles

Saving science for our future - I

By C.N.R. Rao

Over emphasis on information technology and management related subjects has denuded other areas of talent.

THERE HAS been much debate and discussion in recent years on the state of science in the country and the matter has assumed greater seriousness in the last year or so because of the oft-repeated statement that there is a noticeable decline in the quality and quantity of the Indian contribution to science. It is not my purpose to examine the arguments for or against it. I do not also want to get into the semantics of pure versus applied science, for I do not believe in such distinctions. While one may or may not agree that there is a definite decline, one has to admit that the amount of good quality science being carried out in the country does not satisfy one's dreams and expectations. It is essential that we are first rate in science if our technological efforts have to be competitive, since there appears to be little doubt that only those countries that have achieved scientific excellence possess an all-round technological superiority. Equally importantly, intellectual leadership is an attribute that not only enhances our self-esteem but also attracts international interest in various spheres, including investment.

The situation in the country at present is, however, complex since money alone may not help improve matters. What seems to be in greater demand is commitment. To bring about excellence in our performance, both in terms of quality and quantity, there are many requirements. Our educational system should be sound. Our institutions should have sound traditions and proper infrastructure. Our scientists have to be highly motivated and the administration has to provide an enabling environment. What I see around me is not encouraging. The universities, which are the fountains of knowledge and sources of manpower, are decaying fast and there are very few of them where good quality work can be done, because of the poor infrastructure and a variety of other factors, including unhealthy practices and interferences. The absorptive capacity of most of our universities has decreased to an extent that even if large research grants were to be provided, they would not be in a position to pursue worthwhile programmes. The situation is rather precarious and unless remedial measures are taken on a war footing, we may lose these institutions entirely. It will be difficult to create them again. Besides massive, selective investment, it is necessary to have the active participation of dedicated teachers, administrators and others devoted to the improvement of universities to bring about changes in the scenario. It is said that first rate institutions are those where ordinary people go and do outstanding work. If so, we need many such institutions.

An aspect related to higher education is the high in-balance in the training of manpower. For example, many engineering colleges are being created every year, although there is a glut of seats and many young engineers are jobless. A large proportion of these graduates is not sufficiently well-trained to take up challenging tasks. Over emphasis on information technology and management related subjects has denuded other areas of talent, the biggest damage being inflicted on science. Very few talented students take up science and many colleges are closing down these departments. The situation with humanities and social sciences must be equally discouraging. Talented undergraduates in science do not have many outstanding institutions to study in.

Our successes in mission-oriented programmes are often confused with our performance in science. The number of good research papers coming out of India in any given subject is not commensurate with the size of our scientific enterprise. For example, in a subject like chemistry, we may be publishing 300-400 good papers a year in leading journals. This is not sufficient considering that any two big universities in the United States contribute a comparable number of papers. It is important that we make much more quality contributions to the world literature in all fields of science. The reasons that we are not doing so well could be many.

Our science agency heads tell me that there is plenty of money for science today, but I find that it is just not available where and when required. Many of us in physical sciences and engineering find it difficult to obtain adequate funds to carry out research and for other academic purposes. Major institutions and universities do not have up-to-date equipment to carry out investigations at the cutting edge. There is a tendency to believe that providing a few standard instruments periodically takes care of the needs of research, but this is just not sufficient for carrying out innovative work or for making new discoveries in many areas. It is indeed becoming more and more difficult to publish papers based on experimental work in leading journals and the demands on scientists are increasing all the time. Equipment and other facilities need to be constantly improved and upgraded.

There appears to be a general feeling amongst scientists that those in administration get greater importance and recognition. Committee work often gets equated with laboratory work. Scientists get confused by the statement that management is an important and crucial aspect of doing science. The media too gives greater importance to those involved in science administration and management. Let me give an instance. There was a science meet recently where the inaugural function had several people representing the political leadership and administration, both from the State and the Centre. I did not notice a single working scientist listed in the inaugural programme. It is not entirely surprising that many young scientists are anxious to become managers and administrators. This is not good for science. Young scientists should strive hard to reach the highest level in science.

Bureaucracy dominates our lives and the impression is that this is increasing. Good policy decisions do not often get translated into action due to bureaucratic controls. It is tedious and time-consuming to get approvals. Bureaucracy extends to our research grant system as well. Even where funds are provided, they are not released in time and some of the grants cannot be fully utilised because of controls.

A serious problem that has started to plague us recently is the changing value system in our society. Parents exert undue pressure on children to take up certain courses of study instead of allowing them to choose areas where they are most creative. Most middle class citizens take pride that their children are abroad. Some of them start planning their children's future in America or Europe soon after they enter high school. Many of our young people are being attracted to go abroad for school or college education by attractive offers, and many foreign institutions spend considerable effort to come to India to attract young talent. Parents and teachers do not seem to feel it important that our children stay in India and work here. This, added to the decreasing interest in science amongst the young people, predicts a grim future for science. This may also be true of engineering research and development and many other areas. It is not unlikely that in the next few years there will be an acute shortage of well-trained scientific manpower in the country. This will adversely affect all our plans for development.

(The writer is Linus Pauling Research Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.)

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