2013-04-19 00:48:41
Scientific Bangladesh: If the government had asked for your suggestions/advice for the scientific advancement of Bangladesh, what would be three pieces of advice you would make as a researcher?
Dr. K Siddique-e Rabbani: i) Scientific advancement is intimately linked to the development of a society based on a scientific and technological culture, and this, in turn, is dependent on large scale availability of relevant and affordable products for the enhancement of the quality of life of the common people through a proliferation of small industries based on homegrown and indigenously acquired technology. Historically this sector has always been suppressed in order to serve the interests of rich and influential importers. This situation has not changed so far, therefore this sector needs special support through an unbiased, wise and transparent policy formulation. The foremost requirement at present is to allow these small industries to be profitable by having comfortable price competitiveness against imported foreign products through proper taxation policy, which includes tax rates on products and their raw materials at import, and that at manufacture. It is necessary to free the entrepreneurs from the perennial harassment by all sections of corrupt Government officials, particularly from the taxation department and from the law and order organizations taking the taxation system as an opportunity for their corrupt interests. This needs an immediate waiver of all taxes and VAT from the small industries based on indigenously acquired and homegrown technology.
ii)Establishment of service in the name of ‘Small Industry Extension and promotion office’ under the industries ministry (in a way similar to the existing Agriculture Extension Office) where our science and technology graduates can take up jobs to help the small industry sector improve their technology and entrepreneurship. This division will be there to help and support the entrepreneurs as friends and guides, not as a regulating authority. This will allow our science and technology graduates, produced at considerable cost to the nation, to be useful to the country, and to put a break to the expensive ‘brain drain’. (We need to remember that these graduates have virtually no role to play in the existing large industries in Bangladesh which fully depend on foreign technology).
iii)Promotion of PhD level research in the Universities on problems relevant to our country by providing incentives and preferences to local PhDs through appointments in jobs. The University teachers should also be evaluated in respect of their contribution in producing PhDs locally and in contribution to local industries and agriculture, not only through publications in scientific journals. (Only Masters level research is not helping the nation significantly because a student only gets less than a year to do research which is not adequate to develop the necessary expertise and to complete research to fruition.)
