Scientific revolution in Pakistan and Sri Lankan reality
February 13, 2013, 9:34 pm
by Ariyawansa Ranaweera
I am not sure whether your readers have read Prof. Atta Ur Rahman’s address to a representative gathering at Vidya Mandira. Prof. Rahman was one time Minister for Higher Education in Pakistan. The account appeared in the Sunday Island of Oct. 14, as an article by Susil Siriwardana under the title ‘Hard Talk’.
I have no intention of repeating all what Susil said so eloquently and lucidly in his article. All what I have to emphasize is that it is a ‘must read’ for anyone who has the slightest interest in the future advancement of our country, especially in the scientific field. That is the reason I am raising this issue, albeit rather belatedly.
It is interesting to draw parallels between the Sri Lankan reality and that of Pakistan in this regard. When one mentions Pakistan what comes to mind is a country plagued by constant religious rivalry, bomb blasts almost daily, internecine warfare and also a pawn in the hands of foreign meddlers. But Susil’s account proves that there is a substratum of intellectual vigour and commitment keeping the country going. That the inner core of that country is sound and strong enough to withstand all the vicissitudes she has to face. A well planned and durable scientific structure has been put in place.
Anyone who grasps the spirit of Susil’s account cannot but conclude that this is a fitting model for us to emulate. Sri Lanka, a country ravaged by two devastating rebellions in the South and a 30-year civil war which engulfed the entire country, is struggling to bounce back. We tend to forget sometimes that more than two-thirds of the time after winning Independence had to be spent to battle these woes. That this retarded the progress of the country in the economic, social and cultural spheres is common knowledge.
Now is the time for us to regain lost ground and rebuild the country. Sectors, such as, higher education, science and technology have a pivotal role to play in this regard.
The whole success story of Pakistan was triggered by one dedicated scientist, who had the foresight, the intense commitment and who was prepared to sacrifice his personal glories for the sake of his country. He was none other than the speaker himself, Professor Atta – ur - Rahman.
He came to Pakistan after giving up a brilliant career, as a scientist at Cambridge University. When he arrived in Pakistan and started his laboratory at the University of Karachi in 1989, he had to build everything from scratch. In no time he developed it into a centre of excellence.
This success story made him famous not only in his own country, but practically all over the scientific world. The policy makers of the country soon recognized him as a catalyst to uplift the country’s science and technology sector and appointed him Federal Minister of Science and adviser on science and technology to the President. He was also the chairman of the Higher Education Commission, reporting directly to the President.
It is worthwhile quoting from Susil’s article to find out what happened thereafter. ‘This enabled him to meet President Musharaff and convince him that Pakistan could emerge as a world class science and technology player in the foreseeable future, provided the political will was there. And he was very clear that it was he who took upon himself the task of convincing the President."
The lessons we have to learn here are threefold. Spotting and recognizing merit, bestowing responsibility and unwavering political will.
Of the political will I shall dwell later. The bane of our system here is the non – recognition of merit. The able man who can turn around the status quo is ignored. Political allegiance, seniority and nepotism are the three evils that plague the entire public sphere in the country.
Consider what has happened so far in the Higher Education sector, and in the Science and Technology Ministry. The test of the success of this sector is the number of new researches undertaken, new discoveries, inventions introduced, and the benefits that have been passed down to the industries and agriculture. Although I am in no position to come out with detailed statistics regarding this matter, the general understanding is that these institutions have miserably failed to contribute in any substantial manner towards these ends.
What is the underlying reason for this sorry state of affairs? There is no visionary with practical skills to provide leadership to this yeoman task. It should naturally come from the minister in charge needs no emphasis. What have all our Ministers of Higher Education, and Science and Technology done? Professor Attar could lay the edifice and cut through all bureaucratic red-tape because he was given the entire responsibility, with the portfolio of Minister for Higher Education. In layman’s language, the proper person, with the proper foresight, acumen, knowledge and drive was given this task to perform and he performed it to perfection. The university community should be the mainstay of the envisaged development in the scientific field. Universities should be the cradles of new ideas. For this to happen a satisfactory environment has to be created, winning the good will of the staff. But how they were treated by the present incumbent recently, is ample testimony how short-sighted he is when coming to deal with matters which have long term consequences.
The political will
The wholehearted backing by the highest authority of the political hierarchy was the main fulcrum behind Pakistan’s success. Professor Atta, both as Minister for Higher Education and later as the consultant on Higher Education, had direct access to President Musharraf. This enabled him to convince the President of the utmost significance of bringing in a new culture of science and technology. The President had the sagacity to comprehend the value of such an effort and gave his utmost support to this effort unflinchingly. The President of Sri Lanka has declared that his ambition is to turn Sri Lanka into the knowledge hub of South Asia. A very laudable ambition indeed. But sadly it appears, there is no conscious, determined effort to turn this wish into reality. Neither a well thought out programme embracing all relevant sectors is put in place, nor a capable person given the responsibility to drive it. There is an ever- increasing number of consultants, warming the seats of the Presidential Secretariat, but to no avail.
Lets us see what is actually taking place. The scientists, engineers, planners, economists we have produced through our educational system should be recognized as national assets and they should be adequately rewarded and every endeavor made to facilitate and encourage their research capacities. But it is sad to observe the sheer indifference shown to them.
In Pakistan the efforts of the scientists were encouraged and they were given monetary incentives, they were given the latest scientific equipment and laboratories, and above all, they were recognized as an important segment of society.
Moreover, new talent was spotted and their skills honed by sending them to prestigious universities abroad. I was amazed that within a period of seven years, Pakistan had trained 11,000 new scientists and took effective measures to persuade them to come back and serve the country.
One bug-bear that bedevils our effort to advance in this field is the brain drain that is eroding almost all the talents that are required to take the country forward. The best brains are lured by advanced countries.
My guess is, if one inquires from urban middle class families, seven out of ten will boast that their sons and daughters are serving as scientists, doctors, planners, economists in prestigious universities and multinational companies in foreign countries. Moreover, of those who go for post- graduate training abroad, only a handful take the magnanimous decision to come back and serve the country.
What scientific revolution without plugging this gaping hole? Although this sad state of affairs continues to plague the country, no tangible measures have been taken to arrest it by the authorities.
Pakistan provides us an effective way of meeting this situation. I quote from Susil’s article; " in order to incentivize them to come back after training, each of them was offered a $100000 grant for them to set their research projects after coming back, to bridge the time gap till their university placements were in place.
"An important policy innovation was the ‘tenure-track’ concept. That meant that they had to submit themselves to an international review panel for them to get permanent tenure. Once they passed the tenure-truck review they graduated to earn $5000 per month, which was around five times the salary of a federal minister. Think of how our dons were agitating for enhanced salaries to attract the brightest to the university system and to prevent them from leaving our shores.
"Each of these institutions was managed on the basis of critical masses of outstanding scientists. Rigorous standard setting was the norm. A new culture of excellence was being created. Although this was led by the seniors, the sheet anchor were the brilliant young men and women of Pakistan drown from all over Pakistan."
Instead of mouthing platitudes, futile pleas to their consciences, we also have to adopt such effective practical measures to keep the brilliant sons and daughters who come through our educational system within the country, and lure back those who are allowing their foreign masters to exploit their brains.
Furthermore, Prof Atta, when asked how did the money come to launch all these revolutionary changes, the answer he gave was very illuminating. He had pointed out that, contrary to the popular notion that these were funded by the private sector, even in the industrialized countries, 92% of the cases were state funded. So the argument for private funding was a myth. For laying foundational structures it is only the state that can provide the resources.
To be continued tomorrow
