A group of young academics have been demanding an increase to state subsidization of science and education in Armenia. They have created a Facebook group, organized a number of discussions to formulate and put forward their demands.
President of Armenia met the group last year and said instead of demanding an increase of funding, the young scientists should think of better utilizing the funding available to them already. This is surely, a valid statement.
However, a new article in New York Times adds a bit of perspective to the situation with state funding of science and education in Armenia.
According to NYT, Philip Altbach and his colleagues at the Center for International Higher Education have examined academic salaries, contracts and benefits in publicly funded universities in 28 countries, including Armenia.
“They depict a world increasingly divided “into two categories — brain drain and brain gain,” as countries with more resources siphon off academic talent from poorer countries,” the newspaper writes. “In terms of purchasing power, newly hired academics in China ($259 per month, as calculated by this particular study’s index) were the worst off, paid less than colleagues in Armenia ($405) or Ethiopia ($864).”
Go figure!
No wonder I see so many Chinese scientists during the course of my work day.
I can understand paying science, technology, and engineering professors more. They usually produce something of measurable value.
If a poetry professor wants more money, let him write more poetry books. If they are any good, people will buy it, and they will be rich.
Adding value can be measured in different ways. Poetry and other forms of art do not produce immediate economic value but they are essential for a well-rounded nation or society. Not funding such areas would be short sighted and counter productive (in a “penny wise, pound foolish” manner).
Reblogged this on Notes of a Spurkahye and commented:
For any nation to grow steadily and be able to compete with the rest of the world in terms of the raising of educated and valuable citizens, it needs to pay close attention to the creation of an atmosphere which allows for only the best of teachers. Armenia, unfortunately, had a long way to go
Sorry for being off topic but i really want to say this!
I think this blog of yours is very intressting and is always covering things that newspapers and other media doesn’t!
It would be wonderful if you could more posts! 🙂
Btw… is it possible if you could make a post about the year aroud events in Armenia during 2015… if it’s possible to find!
(I am ofc thinking about the events connected to the Armenian Genocide 100th)
Thank you very much for this blog!
Thanks 🙂 !!