In nation with so many young people, education is crucial for progress and development. This is particularly important because as of 2010, 41.8 percent of the Philippine population (or some 38.5 million people) were of school age (5 to 24). Education presents a way out of poverty or a leg up in a career path.
Talk about the best of both worlds. Filipinos are well-known for their adherence to old-world tradition and their capability to innovate for new-school thinking. Most timely and commendable then is the new government program, fittingly named “Smarter Philippines,” to push science and technology (S&T) for the population’s greatest benefit.
Inquirer’s Sept. 20 editorial, titled “Family ties,” concluded, “It is thus necessary that the government solve as soon as possible the perennial problems of poverty and lack of gainful employment, so that more and more parents would stay in the Philippines and continue to care for their children.” This is not possible. First, poverty and [...]
Giovanni Tapang, national chair of the Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (Agham), stated in his letter (“PH no place for S&T workers,” Inquirer, 7/28/11) that the “emphasis on the BPO industry only shows the current administration’s mindset as to science and technology. Instead of locally producing tools and machinery for agriculture and [...]
ON THE eve of his second State of the Nation Address (Sona), Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (Agham) reminded President Aquino that the country under his administration continues to suffer massive brain drain. Many of us S&T (science and technology) professionals still find it hard to land jobs that suit our skills [...]
In his article “The Aquino administration: a year after” (Inquirer, 7/16/11), Ramon del Rosario says: “An indispensable element of setting the reform agenda in motion was the appointment of honest and competent men and women in the various government agencies.” No question about honesty. The problem in our government is the failure to assess competence [...]
