Driving students into science is a fool's errand

Colin Macilwain:

The United States spent more than US$3 billion last year across 209 federal programmes intended to lure young people into careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The money goes on a plethora of schemes at school, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, all aimed at promoting science and technology, and raising standards of science education.

In a report published on 10 April, Congress's Government Accountability Office (GAO) asked a few pointed questions about why so many potentially overlapping programmes coexist. The same day, the 2014 budget proposal of President Barack Obama's administration suggested consolidating the programmes, but increasing funding.

What no one asked was whether these many activities actually benefit science and engineering, or society as a whole. My answer to both questions is an emphatic 'no'.

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Taken individually, of course, these programmes are all very cuddly and wonderful. They are keenly pursued by governments around the world -- particularly in countries that fret about their economic competitiveness, such as the United Kingdom and the United States.

But taken together, these schemes -- which allocate perhaps $600 to each child passing through the US education system -- constitute bad public policy. Government promotion of science careers ultimately damages science and engineering, by inflating supply and depressing demand for scientists and engineers in the employment market.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 16, 2013 1:11 AM
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