Chemical education in the Philippines

(First of a series)

Introduction

The Philippines has prepared a Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP, 2002-2010), the National Science and Technology Plan (2002-2020), an S&T Action Agenda (2006-2010) and a Medium Term Development Plan for Higher Education (2005-2010). All these plans take into account the crucial role that science and technology (S&T) will play in the country’s march toward industrialization in the era of global competition.

The S&T chapter of the MTPDP entitled “Mobilizing Knowledge, Science and Technology for Productivity, Economic Growth and Job Creation” emphasizes that “the policy imperatives over the medium term shall give attention to knowledge creation, dissemination, and technology transfer.” Crucial to the strategy of developing the advanced technology sector is human resource development at all levels, from basic education to tertiary education, including graduate education. The policy imperatives of the plan include the enhancement of the competitiveness of the country’s knowledge and S&T workers by improving the educational system and its ability to meet industry requirements, providing funds for knowledge creation and management activities, upgrading S&T facilities, setting up technology parks and promotion of technology-based entrepreneurship including the development of new products, diffusing appropriate technologies and providing technology support services.

Recognizing the central role that Chemistry plays in all these strategies relative to industry, agriculture, health and environment-related work, it is imperative for the universities to continue producing chemists with relevant training in these and other areas. This paper discusses the present status of university-level chemistry education in the country, the development efforts in chemistry education over the last 28 years and programs and prospects for the future.

(To be continued)

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Dr. Ester Albano-Garcia is currently the president of the University of the East, a position she has held since 2006. She was chairman of the Commission on Higher Education from 1999-2003. From being chair of the UP Department of Chemistry in Diliman in the late 1970s, she was promoted to associate dean of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics division of the College of Arts and Sciences. She was assistant to the UP President for Science and Technology and a member of the Project Advisory Group of the World Bank Engineering and Science Education project of the DOST from 1993 to 1998, while simultaneously chairman of the CHED-DOST Technical Working Group. Albano-Garcia, together with other concerned scientists, was one of those who influenced the creation of the PhD consortium in chemistry, which to date has enabled the UP to graduate 25 PhDs in chemistry, bringing her closer to her vision of the “critical mass” that hopefully will one day put our country in the science and technology map.