BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera office of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-CAR) admitted that the country has a shortage of researchers, scientists and engineers (RSEs) who are supposed to contribute in propelling the growth of the economy through their researches, inventions and works that matter in the global arena.
DOST-CAR regional director Dr. Nancy Bantog said that the country must have at least 382 RSEs per million population based on the standards prescribed by the United Nations to be able to compete globally in terms of science and engineering, coupled with outstanding researches.
However, she claimed that the country fell short of this prescribed standard as the agency documented only 356 RSEs per million population and that the country still has a long way to go in terms of adhering to the international standards in terms of researches, scientific and engineering works to contribute in spurring the desired growth in the economy.
The DOST-CAR official asserted that the agency is doing its part in enticing the youth to take up the science, technology, engineering and mathematics strand in their basic education and pursue similar degrees in the tertiary level to develop their skills and knowledge on related courses and become future researchers, scientists and engineers who can contribute in uplifting the country’s status globally in terms of the presence of experts in various fields.
According to her, part of the ongoing programs of the agency is providing scholarship grants to the young graduates who are interested to pursue science and technology-related courses in their tertiary education while sustaining the operation of the various campuses of the Philippine Science High School to be able to discover students who are scientifically-inclined and are willing to pursue science-related courses in their higher level of education.
She encouraged the young students to start reconsidering their decisions and take up science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based courses for them to be able to navigate the difficult task of being future professionals either in the local or international scenes.
Bantog said that there is an increasing interest being shown by the youth in science-related courses because of the continuous increase being recorded by the agency of students applying for scholarship grants considering the high cost of studying to achieve their dreams of becoming future scientists or engineers.
She stipulated that the country has still a long way to go in terms of producing more researches, scientists and engineers that is why the government is working extra hard to provide the privileges and benefits to the youth wanting to take up science-related courses to help them achieve their aspirations and contribute in speeding up the country’s growth and development and become a major producer of scientists and engineers in Southeast Asia.
Bantog urged the youth to visit the nearest provincial science and technology office or access existing social media platforms for them to get information available from the agency, for those willing and interested to take up science-related courses. By Dexter A. See
