Europe’s future depends on knowledge

One of the main goals of the Europe 2020 strategy, outlined during its presentation by President Barroso in the beginning of 2010, was the EU to avoid a “lost decade” because of the crisis, low economic growth and high unemployment. This is why, among the five goals the document puts forward, there are two that are directly related to education policies: 3% of Europe’s GDP to be invested in science and research; the share of early school leavers (ESL) to drop below 10% and 40% of EU’s youth to have graduated high school or to have university education. There is also a third, very important, goal and it is 75% employment of the population between 20 and 64 years. According to a European Commission report from December 2011, even before the crisis the expenditure for education in some member states were quite low – near or under 4% of GDP, while EU average is almost 5% of GDP. Unlike USA where the public spending for education is 5.3% of gross domestic product. The spending for science and research, though, is quite low in many member states and is in contrast with the data of the Nordic countries – fully commensurable to their economic achievements – most Scandinavian countries and Germany spend more than 3% of their GDP for science and research, while many other countries, Bulgaria among them, spend symbolic amounts of money. And as regards the other important indicator, which I will focus on later, this is youth unemployment, which emerged as a major problem in the past year. The number of young people in the EU without jobs or not involved in education, at the age of 15-24 years, has increased from 15.5% in 2008 to 20.9% in 2010 and these data do not seem striking at all on the average.

Bid to encourage work experience

Universities should help fund internships for undergraduate students on unpaid schemes in a move to increase the number of opportunities for work experience, a Government-commissioned report has suggested. A review into how universities work with business made 54 recommendations, including a number on how to encourage more so-called “sandwich” degrees which involve some form of work, and ways of increasing internships. Every full-time undergraduate should have the chance of an internship, said the report by Professor Sir Tim Wilson, former vice-chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire. Firms offering paid internships should be supported by the Government through a tax credit or grant, the report recommended. Where internships are unpaid, universities should use funds they receive from the Office for Fair Access, which encourages students from poorer backgrounds to go to university, to support eligible youngsters rather than condone a policy that could “inhibit social mobility”. Sir Tim said data on paid and unpaid internships among undergraduates was not collected and he agreed the question of payment was a “very difficult” issue. Universities minister David Willetts said anyone doing actual work was covered by minimum wage legislation and should be paid, but there were now “highly competitive” internships in the corporate sector which had become part of the interview process. The report also suggested universities should only charge students on a work placement year £1,000 rather than the permitted maximum of £4,500, and interest charges on student loans should be suspended. Companies hosting students for a year should be given a tax credit or grant, said the report.

How one family overcame their debts

The Great Recession left precious few without a marked increase in debt. No matter who you are, you probably have less savings and bills that are outside your comfort zone. Debt is a four-letter word that has many awake at night. Whether the economy is your nemesis or you mostly have to look at the man or woman in the mirror, the bigger issue is what to do now. Digging out of the depths of significant debt requires Herculean effort and stamina for the sacrificial journey. Two families shared their strategies for getting back on track. Kandy and Russell Hildebrandt paid off $123,000 of debt in less than five years. “You can do anything if you know it’s not forever,” says Kandy. It took more than a decade to accumulate debt that was spent mostly on everyday things. “It’s not like we took vacations,” she says. What happened? When they decided to start their family, she left her full time job and turns out they had twins. They went from two full time salaries to one-income and two babies, yet they didn’t make the adjustment. They continued to spend as if she working, with some 11 credit cards providing that “salary”. Kandy, 45, says she was unaware of how much trouble they were in because Russell handled the finances. She did notice that he was depressed and didn’t know why. It wasn’t until she tried to purchase dishes one day and was declined because of their debt load that the truth came to light. The couple decided to seek credit counseling and was put on a debt management plan. The credit counselors were able to negotiate a lower interest rate, for example, one card was reduced from 25 percent to 2 percent. However, the couples monthly payment of $2,300 for their debt was onerous. “We did what we had to do. I remember making a lot of meals without meat. The only thing we bought fresh was bananas and apples. At one point I couldn’t even afford to shop at thrift stores.” says Kandy. In addition to working as a chemist, Russell, 50, tried to launch a side business that didn’t work, then he took on a second job mopping floors at a grocery store. “He worked seven days a week for four years, sometimes sleeping in the car because he didn’t have money to commute back and forth from his day job that was a 100 mile round-trip. Many times he nearly drove off the road because he was so tired,” says Kandy. She offered to go back to work but he was against the idea because he had promised her she could be a stay-at-home mom. As for how they made it through, “Family helped us. Adversity strengthens you. We learned what’s important,” says Kandy who in addition to teenage twins has a five year old. They said good riddance to their last debt payment in 2009. It took a while before they even looked at a credit card again. They have only one, with a $2,000 limit that they pay off monthly. While Russell no longer works a second job, she still is a frugal shopper. Her advice, “Before you buy anything, ask yourself if it’s something you really need or can you wait until you have cash? Delay gratification.”

Element of discovery in science missing

D0 we salivate at the prospect of a breakthrough in scientific achievements or do we get turned on by corporate deals worth billions? Does the discovery of a new species of flora or fauna excite us as much as the next hit music or movie? If we are likely to laud the latter, then I suppose we as a society have inadvertently placed Science as less important than, say, the arts or commerce. We should not be hard on ourselves; it is a natural reaction. It is true, of course, that the way we teach it, Science is less accessible than the arts. We should have made it more attractive, more compelling, rather than let it be stigmatised from the classroom on — that Science is hard and is more suited to just a few. We can add Mathematics to that, too. The whole hand-wringing about the lack of students interested in science is symptomatic of this. The fact that there is a suggestion that we give financial incentives for students to do Science suggests how desperate the situation is. It is unfortunate that Science and Mathematics here are anchored to examinations. They are associated with mugging and plodding through textbooks, memorising alien concepts and seemingly useless formulas at such an early age, too. Yet, they need not be so. Science is learning and discovering the laws of nature, and finding out how things work, and what makes them tick. Science would be interesting if students are made to see Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as something that can be used to explain the mysteries of the world we live in. And that Mathematics is more than a bunch of formulas but is something that can make sense of many things that govern how we live. We are so rooted to rote learning, mired in the endless pursuit of As, that there is no element of discovery left in schools. No eureka moment, if you will, for our children.