Invest in S&T training now! - DEMAND AND SUPPLY

It takes at least 15 years to properly educate and equip children with necessary skills and talents before they enter the workforce. The problem is teachers at the elementary and secondary level are not properly trained in mathematics and the sciences. This weak foundation results in a serious shortage of workers with the skills necessary to face the demands of today’s very technical workplace.

Dr. Caesar B. Cororaton, a senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), worries that this inadequacy is a big stumbling block for long-term economic growth because new technologies at the workplace are already in an advanced state and require special technical skills. In a study for the PIDS, he observes that the absence of competent R&D manpower places the country in an extremely disadvantaged position in catching up with the world’s cutting-edge technology producers.

He underscores the need to act immediately. He explains that "problems in this area can be traced to the Philippine educational system, which is very difficult to reform. Even if reforms are successfully implemented, it would take a long time before the economy could benefit from them."

Dr. Cororaton points out that the lack of technologically adept manpower in almost all sectors is obvious. This is why "investment in S&T education is the most crucial investment that needs to be made now." And the place to start is with our educational system.

He found out that "while there is a great demand for technical and engineering-related graduates by local industries, private tertiary schools continue to offer non-technical courses because they cannot afford to provide capital-intensive laboratory resources required by technical courses." The bulk of our PhDs are in the social sciences, so that those performing technical R&D functions are largely only bachelor degree holders.

This is where an organized private sector effort to help improve science education at the grassroots should make itself felt. Things like crash training program for public and private school teachers for math and science, provision of teaching aids (such as cabling of schools to enable them to access Sky Foundation’s Knowledge channel) and identification of poor but talented pupils for scholarships should all make a difference.

We also have to accept the reality that if we leave this job to government, it isn’t going to get done for the simple reason that there aren’t enough funds in its deficit plagued budget. If the private sector wants to alleviate poverty and have trained workers, this is something it must organize to tackle in a big way. This is something the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) should embark on, in addition to their regular lunch meetings, of course.

The alternative is to fall further behind our neighbors and widen the gap between the rich and the poor in our country. We are just nibbling at the periphery of the problem. We simply have to do a lot more now.

Forbes description

How Forbes magazine described Henry Sy in its report on the world’s top billionaires is interesting.

The SM Prime Holdings magnate has some of the biggest shopping malls in the Philippines and its stock is one of the stronger performers on the Philippine stock exchange. But with terrorists blowing up malls and the peso swooning this past year, there were some shivers in the stock price. The 76-year-old still goes to the office every day.

Maybe Forbes is warning that there may be no Filipino $ billionaires next year if our man-made calamities keep on happening and depressing sales. And, most important, if our exchange rate goes to something like, heaven forbid, 60 to one, perhaps? A bigger divisor will simply reduce their status to "near billionaires."

Open space

Mayor Lito Atienza should heed the popular clamor to save the Mehan Garden not just for historical purposes but, more importantly, in order to save one of the few open spaces left in the city. The importance of open spaces cannot be overemphasized. It makes a city less hostile to its inhabitants as the greenery provides the refreshing counterpoint to the cement and asphalt jungle. In Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, they even try to hide the concrete flyovers by making creeping plants cover them in a carpet of green.

In fact, Mehan Garden should be improved to make it more green. Right now, there is already too much concrete. We need to improve the ratio of green and open spaces to build up areas in the city. If one takes Rockwell Center as an example, it is the open spaces that are kept green that makes it so pleasing to the point that it seems like it isn’t in the Philippines.

The need for more open spaces in the metro area is also the principal reason why I am against putting up a school in the Greenmeadows area in Quezon City. I live near this area and pass this route everyday on my way to work. It has already become busy with Libis no longer the quiet backyard it was a few years ago. Traffic flow in the area has become heavy. The last thing we need is another traffic aggravating school for the rich. That’s why the neighborhood associations are up in arms.

The subdivision developer gave the open space to the Quezon City Government as part of its obligation under the law. Mayor Mathay was sadly mistaken to sell it to a private group as a school site. What Mel should have done was to develop it into a public park as it was intended. Now that term limit has saved Quezon City from another Mathay term, his mistakes should be rectified.

As it is, Metro Manila is one of the ugliest metro areas I have ever seen in this world. And that’s because local governments have no desire to implement legally mandated planning guidelines. Zoning is disregarded by City Hall even when residents want it strictly enforced, as is our problem at White Plains. Thanks to outgoing Mayor Mathay.

Save Mehan Garden. Stop that Greenmeadows park from being turned into a school site. Let’s have more greenery in this utterly ugly city of ours.

Revenge...

Reader Chito Santos contributed this one.

"Cash, check or charge?" the sales clerk asked after folding items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet the clerk noticed a remote control for a television set in her purse.

So, do you always carry your TV remote?" the clerk asked...

"No," she replied. "But my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him."

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected])