"Eleventh Plan will ... provide creative youth adequate opportunities for improving their ideas, developing prototypes, showcasing their products."
Mr. Anuj Sinha, Adviser and Head of National Council of Science and Technology communication (NCSTC) spearheads the science communication in the country by drawing up innovative programmes to communicate science and technology and stimulate scientific temper among the people. More recently he has been a member of subgroup for 11th Plan on Rural Technology programme. Mr. Sinha has, among other things, an M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics & Political Science.
R&DIndia project team interviewed him to know his views on various aspects of science communication, innovation in India.
We
do not have a popular science magazine like New Scientist, Scientific
American. Science Today stopped sometime back. Is there a demand for
reviving print medium to popularize science happening in the country?
Yes, we do need not one but many magazines and not in
English alone but also in regional
languages. There are efforts by committed groups and institutions, far too few
though, at bringing out magazines. More often these tend to whither away after
an initial flush. We have supported many proposals from institutions and
organizations for strengthening popular science magazines. The support is
tapered from the third year onwards to help the publication to become
self-supporting. Subscriptions, however, are unlikely to meet the cost of
printing and distribution and there is no revenue from advertisements.
Do you feel space provided for local science and R&D is
limited in our print media?
TALEEM, Ahmedabad conducted a study to determine the space
allotted for S&T in print media in Gujarat-both English and vernacular press
- for over three months during 2003-04. The results, expectedly, were
disappointing. The importance to sports, politics, crime, entertainment,
commerce, etc., (in that order) is evident in most newspapers. The prescription
seems to follow the lead taken by some of the large circulating newspapers which
seem to have their finger on the pulse of the typical advertiser. I would expect
a more responsible editorial policy with significantly higher importance to
science and technology both news and features.
Recently, some papers have commenced columns on health,
information technology, etc. Most stories are by arrangement with some western
feature service and are covering developments made in the developed countries. A
regional prism is very desirable.
Are there good examples of use of Internet for popularizing
science in India? And what is the student participation in the same?
Many sites are available that address science in a popular
format. Most of these are run by companies/ institutions based in U.S.A. Vigyan
Prasar, an autonomous body of DST, has a popular website with many interesting
features that are updated regularly. The Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki
Sanchar Parishad (RVPSP) too started a site that is at present dated. There are
plans to revive it soon. Access to websites is still limited but the user base
is growing.
Project oriented studies has not taken root in our school
curriculum and we are still with rote method. Has NCSTC made attempts to
encourage other forms of science education?
Almost fifteen years back, we supported project based
learning through an innovative nation wide movement the Children’s Science
Congress. Science Center (Gwalior) had two years of experience and we made it an
annual feature with events in every district, state and a national congress.
Participatory processes are used to identify themes, develop an activity book,
train guide teachers, etc., to ensure that creative projects are implemented. We
have frequently revisited the framework and improved the methodology. There have
been spin-offs including a highly acclaimed 13 part TV serial ‘Ignited
Minds’ on DD I. A second serial is under production with projects from the
2006 congress.The National Curriculum Framework (2006) cites the Children’s
Science Congress as an example of project based learning.
We seem to be doing fine in science and maths at school
level. [as India science report puts it.] But this is not yielding results
in terms of patents and papers at a later stage. Are there reasons for this
phenomenon and could this be corrected?
There has been an exponential growth of professional
colleges in the past decade where courses are structured to meet the requirement
of the market. The career growth opportunities for professional graduates are
exciting and this serves to pull talent away from science teaching and research.
Strategies for correction will have to be imaginative-including assured
long-term career planning for talented youth in academics or research in various
science disciplines. In the XI plan, the DST is taking bold initiatives and at a
level that will have a measurable impact. You will have to wait as the scheme
takes shape and is implemented.
One of the NCSTC objectives is to create excitement in
learning of science. Could you share some of the real life examples of your
efforts, and also the impact it has created.
With Intel and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII ) we
have entered a partnership to encourage innovation among youth. Some of the
entries that reached the national level were by very talented youth. These kids
were able to induce their excitement to the judges and visitors.
The confidence of children from rural areas who participate
in Children’s Science Congress with innovative projects leaves us optimistic
about the future of science.
An exhibition of Indian Science inside twelve coaches of a
train ‘Vigyan Mail’ ran for three months with halts at about 27 towns. The
turn out of children and parents at every place was very encouraging.
We are working on three similar projects: six vans that
reach schools with open-ended discovery oriented experiments, two trains of six
exhibition coaches on issues of Planet Earth and a twelve coach train to take
the exhibits of Science Tunnel of Max Planck to 30 cities.
Western science taught in schools and ‘traditional
knowledge’ so many of us live in our daily lives seen to create a
contrast. Do you feel it affects the science communication?
The traditional knowledge systems are largely not learnt and taught in the formal system of education. The systematic pedagogy that has been developed for formal teaching ensures development of observational skills, language, computational knowledge, reasoning, etc., which is the basis of modern mathematics and science.
Indigenous knowledge of artisans, agricultural workers,
etc., is neither used nor studied in this method.
Leaving out a complete knowledge system and introducing a new one often
in a language that is not the mother tongue are creating barriers. It also
amounts to loosing rapidly this system of knowledge for the future
generations.
You have an all India perspective.
Which states or regions show greater interest and potential in
science and engineering at the school level?
No specific data has come to my knowledge to which I can
refer regarding performance of young people in science.
Perhaps there are islands of excellence in each state which can be
gleaned from the results of JEE/ CEE for engineering and PMT for medical
admissions. English language skills seem to be useful in scoring high in these
tests and the consequent counseling. Does it also have a co-relation with the
economic status of the family is to be seen.
Are their active science or innovators’ clubs in the
country? What are the prerequisites for a club like this to function
efficiently?
A number of educational institutions including some of the
IITs encourage their students to use their creativity in laboratories/workshops
which function as science or innovation clubs.
The NCERT has encouraged schools to set up science activity clubs over
the past five decades. We have
encouraged development of manuals which can be sourced for exciting activities
by coordinators of such clubs. The
Eleventh Plan will include setting up of innovation centers in different regions
to provide creative youth adequate opportunities for improving their ideas,
developing prototypes, showcasing their products, etc.
Does our society have the scientific temper? And also, is
it important to have that temper in the larger society?
Scientific temper is important in the society to ensure
that decisions on issues of importance are arrived through a rational process. This could be finalizing the location of a hand-pump or
attending to a victim of snakebite. The
cultural baggage compounded by our levels of ignorance results in low thresholds
of rationality resulting in the community resorting to irrational behavior.
I must add that the definition of scientific temper is still under
discussion.
Are we an innovative society? Do you see the dynamism among
the students to challenge the teachers and when this happens does it in most
cases result in a strained teacher-student relation?
At the school level one does not witness encouragement for students challenging teachers. The interaction at college and university becomes even more formal and remote. Participation in science competitions for students is often a reflection of the efforts of their teachers. Some of this is witnessed even at the graduate and research levels which is a matter of concern.
Does NCSTC make efforts to project role models in science
to catch the imagination of school children to enthuse them for greater
achievements? Could you name
some of the contemporary role models?
On every evening, during the National Children’s Science
Congress the participants have ‘face-to-face’ interaction with invited icons
of modern science. Each session
generally is structured to allow questions from the participants and responses
of the scientists.
Week long motivational programmes have been organized in
over 100 places during the last five years where brilliant students of class XI
spend quality time with an icon of
modern science. They also visit
research facilities, learn to communicate, raise questions on their careers,
etc.
Lecture demonstration series have been supported in several
institutions with icons of modern science who supplement their presentation with
demonstrations on a subject of their knowledge domain in sessions which
typically last one hour.
Most scientists have readily agreed to spare their time and
share their ideas with the students and ensure that the interaction enriches
their thinking process. It would be
unfair to single out scientists by name.
We
are now growing at 10 percent or near about. In your opinion do we have the
commensurate scientific growth?
To sustain an economic growth of close to
10 percent a
commensurate increase in allocating resources for research and development is
necessary. The present investment is largely from the state sector
whereas higher participation of the corporate world needs to be encouraged.
The data from nations that have demonstrated satisfactory growth
(including China) shows that need for investments in research is much higher.
What is the perception among the policy makers about the
contribution of science in the growth we are experiencing now?
H.E. the President has been a strong advocate for a better
perception on the contribution of science & technology.
The Prime Minister also is conscious of the importance of S&T in the
economic growth of the society. Policy makers have in general viewed investments
in research and development as necessary to be able to step up the pace of
development. The emergence of IT as
an engine of growth in the past decade reinforces the confidence with timely and
adequate investments in new and emerging areas.
Arguably science as a profession seems to have lost its
sheen. Is it the compensation that is making the difference or other things
too are at work for this state of efforts?
Developments in economy will impact on different sectors
differently. The growth of service
sector in the last two decades has resulted in more opportunities for
professional growth of management graduates and software professionals. Teaching and research in science has not witnessed a
comparable growth during this period. For
those who seek monetary gratification, science will not appear attractive.
The excitement
of doing good research, traveling on unchartered territory, solving intractable
problems, receiving peer approval for ones efforts, etc.,
are factors that motivate researchers in science.
We need to project these as worthwhile challenges and the related
gratification to be able to attract brilliant minds to this discipline.
India is no longer among the top players in science. We
were a few years back on the top among the developing countries. Could we
recover the lost ground?
Investments in research and development yield results in
the long term. Most investment
decisions, both by the corporate and the state sectors, however, are evaluated
against short time spans and, therefore, capability building does not receive
adequate importance. The National
Knowledge Commission has recommended a five-fold increase in the number of
universities. The past two years
have witnessed the establishment of institutes for education, science and
research, which will contribute to this effort over the next few decades.
There is a tendency to load students at the high school
level with data and information on subjects that we consider very significant.
This has resulted in stress on the teaching learning system.
I feel that the load on the students needs to be lightened with stress on
skill and capacity building which would allow the youngsters to absorb new
knowledge and understand more complex concepts in the professions that they opt
for. I would argue for a weekly
period at the higher secondary level being allotted to ‘research’ to develop
an appreciation for the profession of scientists.
Perhaps issues of IPR and technology management could be part of the
interaction with the mentors in such sessions.
Our industrial R&D is not sufficiently high. Do you feel this is because new product development is not so much ingrained in the industrial culture?
Investments which corporations make in research are not
guided by considerations of culture. These
are decisions based on best utilization of available resources for remaining
competition.
What is the extent of participation [and energy levels] of
the science teachers in NCSTC’s efforts to popularize science?
A large number of science teachers in Government and
private schools have encouraged their students to participate in science
exhibitions, school science clubs, science talent competitions, Children’s
Science Congress, etc. The
enthusiasm of the teachers needs to be appreciated by the peer group as well as
the school managements which are factors missing in a number of institutions.
Teachers in most institutions are not encouraged to innovate with regard
to pedagogy or testing. More space
for this will reflect on high energy levels in popularizing science.
How do you see India’s future in science? Would the next
generation perform better than the current one?
The confidence of young researchers at Children’s Science Congress and other similar conferences is indicative of an exponential growth of science. There are road blocks and diversions which we need to address quickly to ensure that this discipline remains the engine of growth for the society. The future of science is definitely bright.