KAZAKH SCIENCE, FULL OF ABSURDITY

There is a lot of talk about the progress of Kazakh science. The development of this sphere for the benefit of the people always remains important. We asked twice laureate of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Professor Abdrasil ZHARMENOV about the current trends and growth rates of science in the country.

How much money was wasted...

– Tell me, let's start the conversation with the current state of Kazakh science.

– It cannot be said that there are no problems in the science of Kazakhstan. Our organization is considered a scientific institution. Currently, scientific institutions are subordinate to different ministries. Most belong to the Ministry of Education and Science, some to the Ministry of Industrial and Infrastructural Development or the Ministry of Health. There are institutions subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture. I don't think it's a mistake, it's the right practice. But the current situation is very different: regardless of the industry or department, all scientific programs go through the Ministry of Education and Science. This body conducts a state expert examination, analysis by the National Scientific Council and the Higher Scientific and Technical Commission, and only after that allows the Ministry of Industry to finance the project. It is the financing of science that is one of the main problems today. The Ministry of Education and Science sets requirements for each scientific project. Now these demands are close to the point of absurdity. In other words, they do not contribute to the development of science in any way, because all research results are evaluated solely on the basis of the "scientific articles" principle. Other work results are not taken into account. The assessment is conducted only on the question: "Where and what scientific articles have you published before?" Articles are evaluated only by the percentile, the Hirsch coefficient. I've been pointing out the wrongness of these requirements for a long time, but no one listens. For example, a man named Kenesov, who headed the Science Committee for a while, said: "A patent is not considered a scientific work," and he tried to impose this on the entire Kazakh scientific community. At the same time, there are those who applaud this approach from above. According to these formal requirements, each journal has its own level. If your work has not been published in certain journals, you cannot become a professor, academician, or even participate in a competition. Since then, Kazakhstani scientists have been spending a significant portion of the allocated funds on publishing articles in percentile journals. Why should the future of Kazakh science depend on such purchased journals? Recently, the Chairman of the Science Committee reported that many purchased percentile journals were excluded from the list, which led to the loss of a huge amount of funds. Also, according to current requirements, if someone links to your article, it is considered a positive assessment. Therefore, scientists are forced to negotiate with each other about links or buy them. Is it possible to say on this basis that dependence on percentiles develops science or vice versa – leads to its decline and generates corruption?

Who needs science that doesn't benefit the economy?

I'm not saying that the percentile and references aren't necessary at all, but it should be just one of many criteria for evaluating work, not the main one.

If we talk about patents that are not considered as scientific work, then yes, there are different types of patents: scientific, commercial, etc. But if the head of science does not know how to distinguish a scientific patent from others, it means that he does not manage science, but simply deals with an outsider.

The introduction of scientific achievements into production has always been a difficult task. But the leadership of science considers this "not a scientific work, not worthy of evaluation." The President, the government and the Elbasy are talking about the need for industrial and innovative development. Innovation is the introduction of scientific research into production. But in the current system of the Ministry of Education and Science, the introduction of work into production has no value. There are no points awarded in the competition for this. There was even a case when we prepared a project for the implementation of technology in production, but were refused with the wording: "The project estimates include items for electricity, equipment operation, purchase of materials, and salaries that are not related to scientific research, so financing is impossible." It's absurd.

It will take ten days to write one article, and putting the facility into production requires at least two to three years. During this time, the article may not be published at all. But thanks to the implemented technology, hundreds of people get jobs, and their contribution to the country's economy is obvious. Who needs science that doesn't affect the economy? I'm not talking about the humanities, they have their place. The government decree states: "The applied research program must have at least 1% private funding." If someone participates in the financing, he becomes the owner of the scientific result. It turns out that for 1% of the funding, government research can be transferred to others. We want to finance research with our own funds so that the results remain within our competence, but the laws prevent this.

– Does the scientist have to act on his own to implement the project?

– Of course. If the scientist does not make an effort, the process will stop, because it is difficult to understand the innovation from the outside.

Not counting patents as points is a big mistake

– Does the scientist pay for the implementation of the project himself?

– No, it is possible to attract funds from factories or investors. For example, our organization takes one tenge from the budget and three tenge from private factories. If the work is interesting and well-known all over the world, orders are received both domestically and from abroad. The National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan is one of the leading and unique centers in this category. But when participating in scientific competitions, high rates go unnoticed. Failure to account for patents and implementations is a serious mistake.

– Is it possible that the management simply does not know about such problems?

– How much they know or don't know is the level of understanding of science. There are such people among the leaders of Kazakh science.

Every state should respect its titles: "Professor", "Doctor", "Candidate", "Laureate of the state Prize". The Ministry of Education and Science must take into account and correctly evaluate state awards. Each title should earn points in competitions. The winner or just a man from the street – no one sees the difference. I did not include "academics" in the list, as it is now not a state title, but a private organization. The highest title in science in Kazakhstan is the laureate of the state Prize. If a person achieves this, he does not need to prove the level of science, especially in front of government agencies.

Also, all scientific papers should not be considered only by the Ministry of Education and Science. Sometimes funds are redistributed so that little funding remains for the work of other ministries. Therefore, the National Scientific Council and the state expertise should be independent, reporting directly to the government. The requirement to "necessarily conduct an expert examination by foreign scientists" opens the way for the use of achievements by other countries. There is no such requirement in any other country.

There is another factor slowing down science. Previously, scientific institutions made their own devices and equipment. Their workshops provided science and received orders from outside. Currently, government agencies are legally deprived of the right to external work. Any income is confiscated to the budget. Institutes remain without auxiliary facilities, buildings are empty. They can't support themselves, and work has almost stopped. As a result, the necessary equipment is ordered from external companies at a tenfold higher price and time. The new law deprives scientific institutions of the right to train specialists. Previously, we could train the right specialists ourselves. Now university graduates are not always suitable for our work. For these reasons, science in Kazakhstan is gradually deteriorating.

– Tell us about your institution.

– All scientific institutes, except mining and metallurgical universities, are part of our center. Mining is the second largest industry after oil. We are developing it. Most of the factories in Kazakhstan are owned by foreigners. Any foreign institution can place an order, but they understand that no one knows the local raw materials better than us, so 90% of orders go to us.

– Does the revenue from these orders go to the budget?

– No. Funds are spent on technology development, employee salaries, and equipment. Our technologies are bought by both Kazakhstani and foreign companies (Canada, Italy, China, Russia, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan). For example, every tenth ton of lead in the world is produced using our technology. We are also among the leading gold mining institutions. A separate technology is being developed for each mine.: how to extract gold, what reagents to use, temperature, vessels, furnace, etc.

– What are the examples of such works?

– For the first time in the world, we have created a ferrosilicon aluminum alloy. Kazakh Alloy is important for the production of steel and other alloys. We use coal mining waste, filter it and recycle it. The plant produces alloys in 4-5 countries. We plan to open in Kazakhstan as well.

– You said: "Osmium is used secretly, it is unknown who buys it and for what purpose." Why?

– We can only assume. It is a radioactive metal. The core of each element decays at a different rate. Uranium is fast, iron is slow. The radioactive elements are uranium and plutonium, the rest are almost not used. Osmium OS-187 decays slowly, which is important for the accuracy of space research. No work is underway in Kazakhstan yet, it is only known that buyers act through intermediaries.

– Many factories are owned by foreigners. How bad is it?

– Who extracts and receives the raw materials is not the main thing. The owners do not pay full taxes, do not take into account the environment, people's health suffers, sick children are born. The main problem is this. The correction depends on the government, but the measures are being taken incorrectly.

– How close are you to literature? Do you often read fiction?

– I've read a lot since I was a kid. The older brother was a journalist, he demanded to keep records of the authors and a summary of what he read. Batyrlar zhyrs were in our library. I still love literature and appreciate authors.

Now there is a tendency to corporatize scientific institutions and transfer them to private ones. Although the owner is the state, the form is private. In the last 4-5 years, government funding has not decreased, even increased. But this practice leads to the separation of science from the state and the risk of its falling into business hands.

I tried to raise issues of concern to everyone who cares about Kazakh science. If my words have offended anyone, I apologize. 6-7% of Kazakhstani scientists work in our institution, we receive only 1.5-2% of funding, the rest is due to unique technologies made in conjunction with production. We are not sitting idly by, so I urge you to seriously discuss issues and jointly seek solutions for the development of science.

– Yeah, I wish to see the fruits of your labor. Thank you so much for the conversation!

I talked: Maldir RAYYMBEKOVA

Source: newspaper "Kazak adebieti"