Enemies within

The single most important factor that determines the fate of a nation and its state of socio-economic development is education. It is the scientists and engineers that are changing the world today. Indeed, it is the quality of education that eventually determines the stature of the leadership and the success or failure of democracy in a country. All aspects of the development of a country are directly impacted by the quality of the educational systems, be it industrial and agricultural development, law and order, health, or sense of social responsibility.

Yet, we spend only about 1.7 percent of our GDP on education, which puts us among the bottom seven countries of the world. Most of our children grow up without proper education, which results in massive joblessness. The resulting frustrations are leading thousands of youth today, particularly in cities like Karachi, to indulge in street crime as the only path available for survival. If an international vote were taken today for the worst country to live in due to crime and lack of opportunities, Pakistan will emerge as a winner.

The reckless theft and plunder of those who have been in power for the last six decades, with few exceptions, has brought this country to its knees – to a point where many now doubt if it will survive. The salvation lies in quality education, if we change our priorities. The exciting ways in which science, technology and innovation are changing the face of development can offer opportunities for us to leapfrog and emerge from our present miserable state. A few recent examples of new technologies are illustrative of what is happening.

It is now possible to grow cells on a large scale in bioreactors and meat cells may one day be produced and processed to afford “meat” without the slaughtering of animals. Recently Organovo, a company based in California, announced that it had developed a commercial 3D printer for manufacturing human organs! The 3D printer is claimed to be able to place and organise cells of any type onto a template in a predetermined manner. This will, one day, allow surgeons to have access to human tissues of various types on demand.

About 130-170 million persons worldwide are infected by hepatitis C. Hepatitis is a common viral disease found in Pakistan and many other countries with poor-quality water supplies and substandard sanitation services. In an exciting development, Michael Houghton and co-workers at the University of Alberta have developed a vaccine from a single strain of Hepatitis C that was found to be effective against all known strains of the disease.

A Madrid-based designer, Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, has developed ‘smart luggage’ that follows you wherever you go automatically! The suitcase or carry-on bag is fitted with a caterpillar track system and a small battery that allows it to roll along in any direction. It can be connected by bluetooth to a smartphone carried by the passenger. A microprocessor calculates the position of the smartphone and directs the suitcase to follow the passenger carrying it.

These are three examples of recent developments in technology. The technologically advanced countries are progressing rapidly through thousands of such discoveries and inventions every week that soon become commercial products. These researches are taking place either under the umbrella of universities or in R & D centres of private companies. The governments of these countries have played a major role in boosting these research activities by providing huge support by strengthening universities, and establishing technology parks and venture-capital funds to promote new start-up companies.

In Pakistan we have paid little heed to science, technology, education or innovation since its inception, and the little that had been achieved has been systematically destroyed by the government in recent years. Biotechnology is changing the face of agriculture and medicine. India established a full-fledged department of biotechnology under the central government in 1986 and has funded major programmes to strengthen biotechnology and the biotechnology industry has been growing by leaps and bounds.

Its IT industry that has already grown to $60 billion, the biotechnology industry has grown to over $3 billion and is expanding at a rate greater than 25 percent per year. The famous Nobel Laureate Arthur Kornberg had once stated: “Much has been said about the future impact of biotechnology on industrial development, but this does not yet apply to the less-developed countries that lack this infrastructure and industrial strength.

In view of the current power of biotechnology and its even brighter future, there is no question that the less-developed countries must now position and strengthen their status in biotechnology – what a tragedy it would be if these enlarged concepts of genetics, biology and chemistry were available only to a small fraction of the world population located in a few major centres of highly developed countries.”

In Pakistan I had established the National Commission of Biotechnology when I was federal minister of science and technology in 2001. The commission started a large number of programmes and was beginning to lay the foundations of biotechnology when the enemies of Pakistan came into action. The government that followed closed down the National Commission of Biotechnology and all its programmes. Another fast emerging field in science is nanotechnology.

China, India and many other countries are investing heavily in it and it is already beginning to impact a large number of industries in different fields of engineering, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, transportation, electronic and computer sciences. I had established a National Commission of Nanotechnology and provided funds through the ministry of science and technology. Alas, it met the same fate as the Biotechnology Commission.

The National Commission of Nanotechnology was closed down by the subsequent government and its programmes abandoned. The attempts to destroy the Higher education Commission by corrupt politicians is part of the same sad story. Its budget is about half of what it should have been and many of its programmes have been severely curtailed, or abandoned.

The greatest enemies of Pakistan lie within our country. They are desperate to make sure that Pakistan does not progress in any field while they loot and plunder all its wealth and pile it in the form of foreign assets and foreign bank accounts before fleeing abroad.

The wrier is former federal minister for science and technology and former chairman of Higher Education Commission. Email: ibne_sina@hotmail.com