Latest update November 26th, 2024 1:00 AM
Stakeholders’ forum to help reignite Science and Technology Policy
Jamaican Scientist, Dr Arnoldo Ventura
The realisation of a Science and Education Policy may soon be a possibility with the diligent steps being taken by the Ministry of Education to develop a framework document for a National Science and Technology Policy and an Action Plan.
The Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), is currently working in this regard.
A stakeholders’ meeting to help pave the way forward is set for today at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD), a forum which will be facilitated by Jamaican Scientist, Dr Arnoldo Ventura.
Dr Ventura was hired as a consultant to draft the framework document for the policy development.
Through a process of consultations with major stakeholders in Guyana, the first draft was completed earlier this year and is being circulated for critical response.
The Scientist, during an interview with this newspaper, had revealed that in order for Guyana to utilise its natural resources in a more effective and beneficial manner, the use of science, technology and engineering must be applied.
He pointed to the fact that Guyana requires a Science Policy that speaks to the issue of development of natural resources – a move he anticipates could add to President Bharrat Jagdeo’s Low Carbon Initiative and be useful to the future of the world.
Operating out of the Education Ministry, Dr. Ventura was in Guyana last July, offering his services to policy makers at the request of UNESCO, to help Guyana reignite its Science and Technology policy process.
And according to the scientist, he has rendered similar assistance to several African and Asian countries.
His presence here saw him examining a draft Science and Technology document that this country has had for many years to see how it could be upgraded, modified and be made more relevant to today’s world.
Dr. Ventura’s efforts also saw him helping to draft an action plan that will give effect to the Science and Technology policies.
He had however asserted that an outsider cannot actually create policies for a government or its people, since that should be that country or people’s sole prerogative.
“I can give some guidance, I can give some suggestions but that is as far as I can go. I cannot go any further, because although I might sit here and theoretically write a nice document about Guyana, in truth and in fact, that would not fit with the aims and objectives of all the people.”
As such, he explained that his job is simply to reignite and reenergise the process by bringing all of the relevant people together to reconvene the various coordinating groups that drafted the first policy to engage renewed discussions.
This, he said, will result in the creation of a policy that the government can find acceptable, and at the same time, be relevant to the needs of the people and be implemented without delay, as well as in a logical fashion.
He cautioned that without top political support, no science policy can achieve its purpose, as it must have firm backing, which will require some level of budgetary allocation.
According to him, it is crucial that persons participating in the scientific exercise come from the Educational system, and be sensitized to the scientific concerns of the policy.
Additionally, he noted that in order to implement any science policy that has worth, it must have the blessings of those who it will serve, thus people at the grassroot level must buy into it before it could be a true success.
Currently, the project is in its second phase, and the Scientist intends to consult with stakeholders today to garner information which will inform the development of an action plan for the implementation of the policy.
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