Stipends might be one possible reason behind the low public investment in Research and Development, economist Gordon Cordina told a parliamentary committee last week.
Mr Cordina was addressing the House of Representatives Social Affairs Committee that is currently discussing knowledge economy.
He explained that there is very little difference in R&D investment in the private sector between Malta and other EU countries. However, there is a very considerable gap in the money invested by the public sector in R&D. “In other countries, there is a high public investment in R&D, but this is very low in Malta,” said Mr Cordina.
Although he said he needs to study the situation closer, it is possible that the Lm8 million invested in stipends could be diverted to R&D.
“The budget allocated for education is constrained, as the bulk is used to pay the staff’s wages and stipends, leaving very little to spend on research,” said Mr Cordina.
According to the Lisbon Agenda, each country should invest three per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To reach this benchmark set by the EU, Malta needs to invest at least Lm50 million, said Mr Cordina. He pointed out, however, that although the Lisbon Agenda imposes certain targets, these cannot be met by Malta.
Malta should make an effort to increase investment in research and development and reduce the number of early school-leavers.
At present, it is estimated that Malta invests around 0.3 per cent of its GDP, falling far behind other countries in the EU.
“Malta does not need to reach the full three per cent target,” said Mr Cordina. “We can adopt various measures which are more suitable to the small size of the island without breaking the bank.”
Research in Malta does not need to be all-inclusive but instead, researchers could participate in a consortium of foreign research, he added. However, this does not mean that Malta does not need to invest more in R&D.
There is a pressing need to reduce the number of early school leavers who do not further their education once they leave secondary school. Mr Cordina pointed out that arguments that Maltese secondary schools are of a higher standard, or that children start school at an early age, do not hold water.
Since the setting-up of MCAST, the percentage of early school leavers had fallen from 55 per cent to 44 per cent, he said.
“MCAST was the answer for young people who did not want to go to sixth form but still wanted to continue studying,” he said. “However, although the situation has improved, more needs to be done to reduce the numbers.”
He believes that an early warning system should be set up to catch early school leavers and under-achievers as soon as possible.
The government should take the initiative and create incentives to attract people to sectors that are useful to Malta’s economy, such as marine technology, biotechnology, information and communication technology (ICT) and alternative energy.
“Researchers need to be motivated to specialise in certain fields and there is a need for more collaboration between the business sector and the research and development sector,” Mr Cordina said.
Life-long learning and training is very important, especially for the unemployed. “If a business or factory is going to close down, it should provide retraining for its employees as soon as possible,” he said. “These training schemes should be included in the collective agreements between the union and the company. A collect-ive agreement is not solely about the employee’s wages, but for this idea to succeed, we need a shift in culture and mentality.”
Mr Cordina reminded the committee that the MCSD does not have any executive power but is a consultative body to the government.