An urgent and radical response
Editorial
IN HIS inaugural address to the nation, President Bharrat Jagdeo struck a high note when he announced that he will establish a Presidential Commission on Science and Technology. The establishment of such a Commission is both vital and urgent if our country is to rapidly advance in its overall socio-economic development. No one can dispute the fact that our country's capacity in Science and Technology went into decline during the period of the seventies and the eighties with the massive brain drain that we experienced. The effects were widespread. The productive sector was robbed of some of the best engineers and other technical skills. The schools were robbed of some of the best science teachers. Since l992 when Dr. Cheddi Jagan started the process of rebuilding Guyana, many steps have been taken to improve the education system, especially to encourage Science Education, to extend technical and vocational training and to shift the focus at the University of Guyana more in the direction of the faculties of Natural Sciences, Technology, Agriculture and Health Sciences. The Institute of Applied Science and Technology was redirected to spearhead a drive to provide services to the productive sectors, including access to information on available technologies and to coordinate activities related to scientific research, education and training. Among the results is a draft Science and Technology Policy which links to the National Development Strategy and an Identification of Needs in terms of Science and Technology for the productive, service and support sectors. In addition, specific sectors such as mineral exploration, forestry, agriculture, manufacturing and environmental management have been boosted through improved technologies and skills training. But in the typical vicious circle which developing countries are caught, the rate of catching up is well below the rate at which the world is advancing. The new President has recognised the coincidence of his assuming office on the eve of the new millennium and the urgency of a radical response to the Science and Technology need. As President Jagdeo pronounced: "the introduction of Science and Technology ought not to be done in a piecemeal fashion. The ability to use Science and Technology must be total - it must pervade the entire society." The President's declaration is an invitation to all Guyanese in and out of Guyana. It is an opening for teachers and students, for employers and employees, for engineers, technicians, economists and social workers to recognise that science and technology is not the property of universities and laboratories but the fuel for the engine of growth in every sphere of production and socio-economic growth. The plan in the National Science and Technology policy for the establishment of a National Science and Technology Council can now be lifted to the higher plane of a Presidential Commission linking the ideas of a "think-tank to articulate national development strategies" to the activities of the ground forces in the fields, factories, schools and communities. All Guyanese are now offered an opportunity to be involved in a nation-wide activity for the benefit of all and the shaping of a more prosperous future.
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