Students of Andhra Mahila Sabha Arts and Science College participating in the India March for Science, at Osmania University, in Hyderabad on Friday.
| Photo Credit: G. Ramakrishna
Budget allocated for education and scientific research in the country is very low compared to developed countries. As a result, quality facilities are lacking in technical institutions and laboratories, and insufficient budgets have also led to educational institutions raising funds from students in the form of fees, said Indian Council of Agricultural Research Principal Scientist (Retired) Soma S Marla, on Friday.
“Well-developed countries allocate 2.8% to 3.5% of their annual GDP for science and technology, India allocates only 0.8%,” he said, while adding that after the introduction of the New Education Policy 2020, only 2.59% of the national budget was allocated for education.
Mr. Soma Marla, along with a team of retired scientists, professors and activists, was speaking at the Andhra Mahila Sabha Arts and Science College for Women, Osmania University here, as part of the India March for Science (IMFS) event.
The team of officials joined the college students for a march from the NCC Gate to the Engineering College and the main building to MV Hall of the college amid slogans for increase in fund allocation for research and scientific temper, and against superstitions.
For V. Radha, retired scientist from Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), the stress should be on strict implementation of Article 51A(h) of the Constitution — “to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.”
According to Nageshwar Rao Amanchi, IMFS convener, centralisation of higher education was not a right approach, and States should be granted autonomy in matters related to education, science, and technology. He urged the government to focus on key areas such as scientific temperament, education, health, environment, and scientific perspective.
Expressing concern over removal of Darwin’s theory of evolution and Mendeleev’s periodic table from the NCERT textbooks, he explained to students the theory of evolution and survival of species.
Speakers at the event also included Breakthrough Science Society president R. Gangadhar, retired professor B.N. Reddy, and college principal K. Jhansi Rani.
Faculty, members of Jana Vignana Vedika, research scholars and students, participated in the march.
