Without a pay rise for the researchers the situation with Belarusan science will only get worse.
This opinion was shared to the EuroBelarus Information Service by former chief of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus Aliaksandr Vaitovich.
He admitted that the research workers in the Academy receive too little money at present.
“Indeed, for the first half year of 2012 an average salary of the scientists across the country and in the Academy was 3,4 millions of rubles. And the average pay for the 9 months of this year in government-financed organizations averaged 3,7 millions”, told the ex-leader of NASB.
“It is a very small salary; it is lower than the national average. And of course, without deciding upon that issue we won’t revive the science, and the situation inside it will get worse and worse”, the interlocutor assumes.
He noted that the data cited characterizes salaries of the scientists employed both in fundamental and applied research. Still the salary of the researcher depends much upon his ability to wring any contracts or projects financed by commercial structures. It is clear that it is practically impossible to interest business for the scientists involved in fundamental research. That’s why it is so important to exempt fundamental science from the duties of fund-raising, Aliaksandr Vaitovich assumes. All the more that this practice is formed in Belarus only, while in the developed countries such approach is simply not applied.
Low wages has a negative impact on the staff problem in Belarusan science as well. It chiefly concerns the inflow of young experts. “But even those whom we manage to get involved into science do not stay in the country for a long time”, the interlocutor notes.
As a rule, after several years of work in Belarus and after getting some experience during this time, young scientists aim to go abroad. And besides an adequate salary they get much more favourable conditions for self-realization there, noted the ex-leader of National Academy of Sciences in Belarus. As the level of technique of Belarusan science as well leaves much to be desired.
To decide all these problems a large-scale reform of the whole scientific sphere of Belarus is necessary, notes Aliaksandr Vaitovich. “And projects of such reform do exist, we submitted them to the authorities”, noted the interlocutor. But there was no readiness to realize them from the side of the decision-makers.
“The situation in the scientific sphere is very poor, but all this is somehow suppressed instead of publicizing it, discussing and trying to solve it”, emphasized Aliaksandr Vaitovich.
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