India is currently facing “a systematic threat” to its scientific and educational foundations, a panel of scientists-citizens said on Monday, citing what they have described as institutional promotion of pseudoscience, declining funds, and changes in school curriculum and university education. The panel’s statement said changes in school science syllabi have also raised concerns about the quality and accuracy of future science education in India. “Alterations that prioritise ideological agendas over scientific facts risk hindering the development of a scientifically literate populace,” the panel said. But one panel member said such public discourse misleadingly conflates science, technology and innovation. “Science is not technology and technology is not innovation,” said panel member Ashok Jain, former director of the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies, a unit under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

Source: The Telegraph February 27, 2024 05:46 UTC