Photo: STAR

IT would be wonderful if Bangladesh could be transformed into a modern, technologically advanced and prosperous country by 2021, the 50th anniversary of our independence. It is a long term and ambitious objective that is definitely attainable if we can provide modern and appropriate education and training to our young generation, make research and innovation the major focus of our higher education sector, and use science and technology as the major tool for meeting our development goals. Without these, Vision 2021 and "Digital Bangladesh" will be no more than mere election slogans.

Emphasis on "Digital Bangladesh" is correct, as there is a strong correlation between economic and social development of a country and its proficiency in science and technology. If the ultimate objective is the realisation of Vision 2021 then there has to be sustained support of science and technology at all levels. It is, therefore, mystifying that the Science and Technology portfolio has not even merited elevation to cabinet level.

For modernisation and attainment of self-sufficiency by 2021, the major challenges for Bangladesh are poverty reduction and sustainable development, but neither of these are possible without a very strong science and technology base underpinned by excellence in education at all levels and a well-trained work force.

What is our real economic and technological standing within the community of nations? Bangladesh is classified as a least developed country (LDC), and is only one of three LDCs among the OIC-member countries. Dhaka University, which used to be referred to as the "Oxford of the East," does not even rank among the first 1000 universities in the world, or even among the first 30 in the Islamic world. This is mainly because of the absence of a research culture, serious lack of research facilities and opportunities, politicisation of academia, and anachronistic rules for appointment and promotion.

If the government is serious about "Digital Bangladesh" and Vision 2021 then it needs to find ways to promote research and innovation so that Bangladesh can become internationally competitive. Bangladesh has a very high population density and very few natural resources. So there is a need to become a "clever country" based on intellectual capital and to devise strategies that allow our youth to get involved in nation building activities.

Educating our youth is an investment in our future, but should this education be for the development of other countries at the expense of our own? There is certainly something wrong with the obsession to export our youth to earn foreign exchange without first meeting our indigenous needs.

There is a lack of educated and trained manpower in essential sectors of our economy, yet a very high proportion of our newly trained doctors, scientists and engineers eventually emigrate and find employment in other countries. In many ways, our education policies and curricula are geared to the R&D market in the US and Europe.

The major reasons for the brain-drain of our professionals are the outdated education system and the absence of conditions for utilising the talents and expertise of our scientifically educated youth. Every effort needs to be made to arrest and reverse the debilitating brain-drain by creating conditions that allow our best and brightest scientists to carry out internationally competitive and rewarding research in areas of national priority while living and working in Bangladesh. This will help to retain our most productive people in the country and induce others to return home.

Bangladesh already has a small but very highly trained scientific manpower within the country and large numbers of talented scientists and technologists spread across developed countries all around the world. Many expatriate scientists would be happy to contribute, in many different ways, to the development of Bangladesh if given the chance.

Developing conditions conducive to research and secure employment in Bangladesh will result in "brain-gain," which is a prerequisite for modernisation and sustained development. The government could choose, whenever possible, to obtain independent expert advice from scientists of Bangladeshi origin without wasting exorbitant consultancy fees on so-called foreign experts from the developed world.

I hope the government will review its decision on cabinet p