World Science Day for Peace and Development: Address by Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, President AKU

Science Education, Peace and Development

Bismillah-Ir-Rehman-Ir-Rahim.

It is an honour and a privilege for me to be invited to speak at this Convention of Scientists on World Science Day. I must admit that when I received this invitation I found myself wondering why I was invited to talk about Science Education, Peace and Development. Could it be because Aga Khan University has demonstrated a model for education in the health sciences? A model that does not just produce good doctors and nurses, but also trains them to be of use in their communities. I thought this may well be so, but what is that we do to contribute to peace development. In order to help me understand this, I draw inspiration from one of the most important scientists of our times, Albert Einstein, who said that "Peace cannot be achieved through force, it can only be attained through understanding."

Albert Einstein is regarded the world over not just as a physicist whose theories changed the way in which we examine the world, but also as a leading educator and peace activist in the later days of his life. In fact, the last letter he ever signed - only one week before his death - was addressed to Bertrand Russell, agreeing that his name be added to a manifesto urging all nations to give up nuclear weapons.

Albert Einstein was not alone. He is only the brightest star in a galaxy of scientists who devoted their lives to pushing the frontiers of science, spreading and improving science education and advocating for peace and development. Professor Abdus Salam, our very own Nobel laureate, was also not only one of the most brilliant physicists. He was also one of the most ardent advocates of the importance of science education for development and peace in the Third World. His International Centre for Theoretical Physics is a focal point of cutting edge physics as well as investigations into how Science Education can benefit development. The Third World Academy of Sciences, formed under his leadership, explores this goal further.

Indeed, I recall vividly my last meeting with him in Trieste some twenty years ago. He made, on that occasion, a very strong plea to a group of scientists and development experts about the importance of scholarship in science to attain long-term development in the Third World. His words had a profound impact on me at a time when we were busy planning the Faculty of Health Sciences at Aga Khan University.

UNESCO's dedication to this issue of the 10^th of November, every year starting this year is critical. The UN General Assembly in its 71^st Plenary in December 1988 foresaw the importance of this nexus in a resolution to turn science education to peace and development. We can find today a host of scientist organizations devoting themselves entirely to concerns of peace and development.[1]

But with all of this, the relationship of science education to peace and development is not well understood in Pakistan. There is considerable investigation into education and development and into development and peace. There is even some analysis now, principally under the leadership of the eminent scientists here today, on the relationship between science education and development. But there is little evidence of enquiry into the nexus between all three issues.

For a start, any such investigation must be guided by the reality of globalisation that the world is experiencing today. Within this phase of globalisation, traditional indicators of development are correlated directly with the indicators of societal and inter-societal harmony as well as gains in education, science and technology. The famous UNDP Human Development Report lists the attainment of key scientific indicators as being crucial to judging the level of human development in a society, while the acclaimed World Development Report of the World Bank does the same. But the importance of the relationship in today's world is brought out by the now-famous expression: the knowledge-based economy. At the same time, Pakistan's regional and geopolitical realities are bringing out the importance of an educated society, able to compete at the very cutting edge of science and technology.

This brings to mind what Carl Saga, the astronomer and popular science fiction writer, said: "We live in a society exclusively dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology."

Within this backdrop of globalisation, two dimensions of the nexus between science education, peace and development may be important to note. In one dimension, in a very direct sense, science education (particularly in the natural sciences but also in economics) helps a country engage with the knowledge-based economy. It does this by imparting skills and information relevant to growth. Let me say at the outset that much more empirical evidence is needed to back up this general statement: evidence that does not exist comprehensively, at least to my knowledge, in Pakistan. It is a fair statement, however, that science education enables individuals to compete more effectively in a country's economy and pushes the frontiers of technological effectiveness and efficiency, hence contributing directly to growth.

Also in this direct sense is the importance of science education, particularly medicine, in imparting the attitudes of humanization and an awareness of the brutality of conflict. Science education, I feel, thus directly affects the inclination to peace and development, as evidenced by the advocacy of leading scientists in the world.

In the second, more indirect, dimension the nexus between science education, peace and development is more long-term and potentially more significant. It is generally accepted that science education, if imparted well, helps to build a critical and rational approach in individuals. Such an approach is built not just in the students, but also in teachers and researchers. Science education, thus, has a clear impact on the level of tolerance and ability to develop among members of a society. In the words of Einstein, science education promotes the "understanding" necessary for peace, and in the philosophy of Professor Salam, it opens up the doors to development by the very nature of scientific enquiry.

In the years surrounding World War II, in particular, there was a visible effort to develop "scientific" rationality to counter the irrational attitudes and propaganda of fascism. I think it is not difficult today to see the need for promoting humaneness and rationality in the face of rampant, irrational violence.

Coming now to our own context, these two dimensions - direct and indirect - outline an agenda for enquiry into what I feel can become one of the more crucial questions of our time: How does Pakistan develop itself both socially and economically in the context of globalisation and within the specific geopolitical context in which we live? How does our society deal with the imperatives of our neighbourhood and still develop itself socially, culturally and economically. Certainly, science education has a critical role to play here, but how can we clarify this role and work on it?

Although it is premature to make any recommendations without a more thorough analysis, I would like to present some of my own thoughts on this.

First, all of what I have said is critically dependent on the quality of science education that we impart at all levels. We know that in many cases in Pakistan, science education is merely an exercise in memory, rather than a constructive, rationalising and mind-expanding endeavour. Only "good" education can broaden the mind and develop skills, whereas as we know, neem hakeem khatra-e-jaan. Much of science education is also devoid of the context of globalisation and regional realities within which the education must be utilised. Thus simply enhancing the scale of science education is necessary but not sufficient. In fact, I firmly believe that simply throwing money at the problem will not solve it. Instead, we must concentrate on using the enhanced resources appropriately to enhance quality and societal impact. Scientists and science educators have a key role to play in developing the leadership needed to complement growing allocations to Science and Technology.

Second, there is a need to focus on higher education. The knowledge-based economy and the global importance to higher education have made this apparent. In particular, proper science education at the tertiary level can provide the skills, information and attitudes needed for societal harmony and evolution. It can also train primary and secondary teachers, especially in science subjects, for a multiplier effect.

Third, there is a clear need to investigate further the nature of science education in the context of Muslim civilizations. Our own history shows that it was the great scientists, healers and navigators who expanded the frontiers of Muslim society. Contrary popular perception in the West, it was superior knowledge, trade and the force of our religious conviction that developed our civilizations. But we have, sadly, lost the benefits of that wisdom and instead fallen prey to a distorted "polarity between Islam and the West" and a failure to "study Islam as a civilisation".[2]

Finally, we also need to examine again how science education must dovetail with humanities and the arts to produce well-rounded, educated individuals. We must not produce tunnel-visioned scientists, or even non-scientists, but rather whole youths who can integrate with our society, and lead it to a bright global future. A microbiologist without an understanding of philosophy is like a lamp without oil; an accountant with no understanding of scientific reasoning and the great scientific discoveries of our time, is a mere number-cruncher, easily replaced by a computer. It is the cross-fertilisation of disciplines that makes us humans and makes us excel.

Having set this context, I would like to draw your attention to what is happening in our own country. Higher education reform, particularly in Science and Technology but also in the humanities, is proceeding apace to address exactly these concerns. More specifically, I would like to describe briefly to you three interesting initiatives at Aga Khan University.

The new Human Development Programme is beginning to highlight, through scientific research, the very close relationship of early childhood evolution with later development. The development of the body and brain from conception to age three is a function of its environment, both in terms of immune system development and the firing of neurons and development of synaptic pathways. As the Carnegie Task Force on Young Children notes, this "influence of early environment on brain development is long lasting." By bringing together science education, research and practice, the Human Development Programme is a totally new field which, Inshallah, could make it possible for a developing society like ours to leapfrog to a new level of development. It is AKU's attempt towards peace and development through science education, moving into new areas of research and graduate studies.

Second, Aga Khan University has recently established the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations in London. The Institute is developing research and scholarship on Muslim civilisations and heritage, integrating this knowledge into AKU and other educational curricula, and providing a forum for participation with others in coping with the problems facing the modern world. This Institute has already set a course to collect and disseminate literature on Muslim civilisations, including the history of science, and to conduct research on the heritage of Muslim societies in "an integrated analysis". It expects to project these findings within the Muslim Ummah and to industrialised societies that often have a distorted image of Muslim civilisations and societies.

The planning is driven by a wise adage: "Sow an act and reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap destiny." It is the hope of the University that quality, relevance and impact of the new Faculty will be combined with access, to reap destiny.

The efforts of Aga Khan University are simply one set of initiatives in science education, peace and development. The University has a long and arduous path before it can become the role model that it aspires to be in this sphere, along the lines of its impact in the health sciences. But we need many more such initiatives in our country.

I hope that this event organised by the Pakistan Science Foundation is a first step towards scientists helping Pakistan build a more tolerant and economically vibrant society.                         

Thank you!