C. N. R. Rao
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur-16, lndia
Chemistry for the Concerned Citizen The case of lndia
In discussing a topic of this kind with respect to devcloping countries like India, I cannot avoid comparing the two worlds in science and technology. We have, on one hand, the advanced countries where science or more correctly the by-products of science, namely technology, rules supreme in society and there is growing indifference and animosity towards science. In the developing countries, on the other hand, science and technology are yet to make their impact; the common citizen is yet to get his two square meals and he looks a t the world of science with awe and respect. I do not know how long this will last, hut it is pertinent to look a t the status of our present day civilization in the different parts of the world while drawing up plans for science education. This is particularly required of chemical educators, since we chemists generally believe chemistry has much to offer towards the betterment of man. The Role of Science Education in Developing Countries like lndia
The driving forces of societies in advanced countries have been marked with a scientific orientation, hut the problems that concern the developing nations are of a different kind. Every developing nation would very much l i e to have a scientific orientation to its society. The common man has high expectations from science, but his old world traditions still dominate his attitudes. He will continue to view science with some reservations unless he can directly experience its impact. Even if he were to accept science, he is still a long way from understanding the processes that make science work for man. Developing countries like India have had nothing like the industrial revolution in the West. Some changes are, however, slowly taking place without such a revolution. The common man finds the fast pace of an industrialized society to be very different from the pace that he or his forefathers were used to. Overriding all these are the cultural problems. Unless technological revolution takes place simultaneously with a social revolution in a developing country, we may be dealing with an explosive situation which may have political and other overtones. The two important factors responsible for technological revolution are the adoption of the scientific method or attitude and the democratic ideal which accepts that both the society and the technological revolution stand for the common good of all men. Unless we have a large cumber of persons with well-trained and highly competent minds, it is not possible to deal with the complex problems facing India. Even more important is the need to basically change the attitudes of the majority of the people in a country where the
past co-exists to a large measure with a small contribution from the present. We need to establish an organic connection between the past and the present and bring about a change in the minds of men where they do not find any contradiction in having scientific attitudes to obtain a better life for themselves and others. This problem becomes acute because of the overwhelming population (which will reach a billion or more by 2000 A.D.). How do we plan a massive education system which will be able to bring a social revolution of which science and technology are a part. It is in this context that chemists have much to contribute to society both in education and industrialization. The number of collcgcs and universities in India has increased enormously since India got its freedom in 1947. Before independence, there were 20 universities. Now there are nearly 90. For a person of college age, the chance of entering college is nearly 10 times higher than what it was a t the time of independence. Although we are spending considerable amounts of money on education, the actual percentage of the GNP spent on education is very low compared to the advanced countries. The quality of education, especially in science, undoubtedly is not high. The performance of the educated people has been poor. One of the limitations for effectively carrying out national programs in the country is the fact that education is a state responsibility; each state besides being autonomous also has its own language. For all practical purposes, the country has to deal with 14 or 15 different systems of education. In a society where poverty is extreme, resources limited, even the marginal gains in education, communication, and health have produced a tremendous increase in the expectations of our people. Unless gains are visible, the rising expectations can sweep away the middle-class intellectuals completely. There is an urgent necessity for the survival of intellectuals and educational institutions. In order to do this, we have to first get rid of the discontent amongst the educated people, particularly amongst students and teachers. Our educational institutions in India are poorly equipped both in terms of hardware and in terms of manpower. The curricula are generally outdated; we seem to teach little of modern science or its cultural aspects. The teachers are poorly paid and have no ambitions professionally or otherwise. The students are dissatisfied because they do not see any future for themselves; they see large-scale unemployment and sub-standard living of most of the educated people. The degrees they receive have no relation to the real problems. It seems to me that we are actually sowing Volume 49, Number 5, May 1972
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seeds of dissatisfaction by producing college graduates (even though in small numbers compared to the population); they would have been happier if we had not raised their hopes by giving them a college education. One of our main problems now is how to produce the future leaders and managers of our society with the existing framework where poverty and unemployment - . rule supreme. One of the important objectives of science education in India should be to train science-oriented manaeers of humanity besides skilled technicians, trained teachers, and others responsible for technology transfer. These managers will be responsible for the dissemination of knowledge in the villages of the country in areas like fertilizers, pesticides, transportation, pollution, water resources, meteorology, electric supply, television and radio communication, foods and drugs, contraceptives, etc. Many of these areas involve direct contributions from chemistry graduates. Need for Internotional Programs
The public should become aware of the nature of science and the importance of chemistry through school curricula and more so through popular articles in newspapers and magazines as well as television and radio programs. In developing countries like India where the public is impressionable, such publicity for science will undoubtedly meet with success. The public should become aware that most of man's pressing problems like food, clothing, population, pollution, drugs, etc., will be solved, if a t dl, through chemistry. While this may look superfluous in an advanced society, this kind of education of the public will have both moral and material benefits in developing countries. Further, it is indeed possible that the common man in a poor country will develop a scientific
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attitude over a period of time through the various mass communication media. If he indeed does so, he will be better prepared to meaningfully benefit from the technological advancements and also to contribute to the economic development of the country. Out of all this, science may indeed go up in the value scale of our society, something that should happen in advanced countries as well. Therefore, I feel that organizations like I U P A C and UNESCO should actively involve themselves in establishing centers for popularization of chemistry through mass communication media in developing countries. Although some important programs for the improvement of chemical education have been initiated in India through programs of the National Council for Edncation Research and Training, National Council for Science Education, and University Grants Commission (particularly after the Indo-US. conference on Chemical Education in 1969), the progress we have made is far from sufficient. The scientific awareness of the community as well as the economic development of the country will significantly depend on chemical education programs. I t i s highly desirable that international organizations like the I U P A C take direct interest in such programs by providing assistance in establishing a n active chemical educatia cater with a n international reputation in India. If such centers can not be established in every country, we could a t least think of one or two international schools of chemistry (similar to the International School of Theoretical Physics in Trieste) where active teachers could spend some time periodically. If i t is diicult to establish such international schools due to financial limitations, we could a t least have groups of distinguished teachers give intensive short-term courses (6-8 weeks) in the various areas relevant to chemical education in different parts of the world.
