News & Views item - June 2010

 

 

Please Don't East the Daisies. (June 9, 2010)

A report by Guy Healy in today's Australian brought to mind an observation made by Jean Kerr in her 1957 collection of essays on her and her husband Walter's ministrations to their young children.

 

We are being very careful with our children. They'll never have to pay a psychiatrist twenty-five dollars an hour* to find out why we rejected them, We'll tell them why we rejected them. Because they're impossible, that's why.

 

According to Mr Healy the Federal Government commissioned a 122-page report from Allen Consulting which was delivered recently under the title Employer Demand for Researchers in Australia to the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research. It warns that it will become increasingly difficult for Australia to counter a looming researcher shortfall and notes in particular that "it [will be] increasingly difficult to attract researchers from [China and India] as their economies continue to expand and funds flow into their domestic innovation systems".

 

The report also alludes to the Australian Council for Educational Research finding§ last year that demand for employees with higher degree by research qualifications will expand by 50% to 2020.

 

Furthermore, in July 2006 Julie Bishop, then Minister for Education, Science and Training in the Coalition Government, released the official audit of Australia's scientific, engineering and technology skills. During its tenure in office the Coalition Government under the Prime Ministership of John Howard had under-resourced the maintenance and development of "Science, Engineering and Technology Skills" to the point that the audit by its department of education, science and training warns in its final report that Australia is likely to suffer a short-fall of as much as 35% in its estimated requirement of 55,000 additional scientific professionals -- that is of meeting its projected need for an extra 55,000 scientific professionals within six years. That comes to just over 19,000 individuals.

 

Senator Kim Carr, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, asked by Mr Healy for a response to the latest report replied that the government had upgraded fellowships targeting early, mid-career and senior researchers, and was encouraged by recent growth in overseas students doing higher degrees research. However, Senator Carr said, Australia "had to work hard to continue to build and maintain a research workforce that meets its requirements".

 

That is pathetic. In 2006 we were told there will be a shortfall of 19,000 scientific professions by 2012. Senator Carr commissions two unnecessary reports which merely re-enforce that finding. Other analyses continue to emphasis the wretched state of the foundations of mathematics and statistics in our tertiary institutions and the teaching of STEM subjects in secondary schools.

 

In this case  we WOULD tell them why we would reject them because they're impossible, except that the prospect of an Abbott Coalition Government is so much worse -- that's why.

 

Overall the prospects for an education evolution of consequence are looking bleak indeed, it's just a matter of how bleak.

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*Allowing for inflation and the current exchange rate $25/hr in 1957 equates to A$210/hr. today.

§ Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) 2009, Supply, demand and characteristics of the higher degree by research population in Australia, report for the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, June.