Academic omission

Abdurasul ZHARMENOV: If an academic is lying down, it does not mean that he is not doing anything!

Members of the National Academy of Sciences have written an appeal addressed to Kassym-Jomart TOKAYEV. In it, academics strongly opposed the assignment of the status of a non-profit public association to the National Academy of Sciences and suggested that a number of government officials were sabotaging the president's instructions and opposing his reforms aimed at building a New Kazakhstan

It should be recalled that at the anniversary session of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the head of state instructed to give the academy a state status. “There was an incredible embarrassment. Instead of the expected traditional state status, the NAS received the quasi-state status of an NAO (non-profit joint-stock company) with 100% state participation. For the Academy of Sciences, the form of a non-profit joint-stock company is an uncharacteristic, to put it bluntly, humiliating status!” the academics write in their address to the president.

What exactly is the humiliation and why are pundits against the NAO? We talked about this with the Director General of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials, academician, twice winner of the State Prize, Professor Abdurasul ZHARMENOV.

- Abdurasul Aldashevich, in an open appeal addressed to the head of state, the members of the National Academy of Sciences are outraged that the academy is given the status of the National Academy of Sciences, in which the supreme governing body is the sole shareholder. If the only shareholder is the state, then what is wrong?

- A joint-stock company is a private form of ownership, and it does not matter what kind of government involvement there is. The President clearly said: to return the Academy of Sciences to the status of a state structure. And now there is a direct non-fulfillment of the president's instructions. Secondly, we were sent the proposed charter of the NAO. It says that the president, vice president, and academics are appointed by the authorized body. Where has it been seen that academics have been appointed? They must be elected by the general meeting of the academic community.

Anyway, our lawyers say that NAO is not a completely legal form. For example, our universities have become non-profit societies. But they continue to recruit students for a fee, that is, they sell their services. What kind of non-profit society is this? We also assume that we will make scientific developments and sell them. Therefore, the NAO does not correspond to our interests and plans.

Therefore, the position of academics is simple: we need a special law on the national academy, just like in other countries. It should specify the special status of the academy. Because no form of ownership, including state ownership, which currently exists in Kazakh legislation, is suitable for the NAS, since none of them provides for the election of members of the organization. That's why we demand it.

- To a person who is far from the activities of the National Academy of Sciences, it may seem from the outside that academics simply do not want increased state control and strict responsibility. Is it so?

- Absolutely not! If we are a government agency, then control, on the contrary, will be present. But the state should not interfere in the selection of academy members. This is purely a matter for scientists. And on all other issues, including financial ones, let the state control!

- Even if the form of a state institution is chosen, can we talk about independent and fair elections?

- It all depends on the system. If the system allows dishonesty, if it allows you to interfere in all appointments, then this will be! I'm not saying that academics always choose ideal people to join their ranks, but we need to work on this. If we want to develop the academy and restore its former authority, we must properly conduct elections and choose the right people who will raise the prestige of the academy. And we managed to hold fair elections to a greater extent than in other government organizations. Always!

- Given the corruption inherent in many government agencies, are there any guarantees that membership in it will not simply be sold when the special law “On NAS” is adopted? After all, there are probably many people who want to receive scholarship payments for life...

- This is a difficult question. But! Currently, the president of the Academy of Sciences, who, in theory, could sell membership in the academy, does not have such influence on academics to vote the way he wants. But every member of the academy is elected. Therefore, the probability that academic places will be sold is minimal.

- But the status of a member of the academy is for life, as well as scholarship payments. It's a great temptation to buy a membership and receive a lifetime scholarship...

- Who did you buy it from? 230 academic members, five to six departments. There are from 30 to 60 people in each department. Each department votes for the election of academics. What does it mean that everyone has to pay? Do you think that every academic member is corrupt and does not support the fate of the academy? But if one person appoints, then the probability of selling membership will increase significantly. Therefore, I cannot exclude the possibility of selling membership, but with the current voting system, it is quite low.

- And yet the opposition to the NAO form is unclear… Under the current system, in my opinion, you can make a scientific discovery once, get a membership, and then spend your whole life lying and spitting at the ceiling.… Maybe it's time for a modern, more market-oriented approach?

- I have been at the academy since 1995. I could lie there and spit at the ceiling. This option is not excluded. Yes, academics can lie. But at this moment they will be thinking, working out some ideas. I've only been on vacation five times in 27 years at the academy! I plow like an ox. A scientist who has reached the academic level cannot afford to do nothing. I do not know such academics. Not a single one!

- Hand on heart: do all current members of the academy live up to their status and are academicians deservedly?

- I can't say that, unfortunately. You understand that the academy has been in a pen for 19 years. She had no authority whatsoever. Do you remember the popular phrase that if you spit, you'll end up in an academic? So Kazakhstan has overcome this distance in 5 years. First of all, we have countless academies where places may have been sold. But it was the National Academy of Sciences that kept it relatively clean in this regard. This is my deep conviction. But I can't say that only the most worthy got here either, because it often happens that people make the wrong choice.

- In the letter, the authors repeatedly point out that the status of the NAO will negatively affect scientific activity. On the other hand, I do not recall that during the years of independence any scientific discoveries were made on such a scale that the scientific community of Kazakhstan thundered all over the world. Maybe it's just about its organizational form?

- I'll tell you about myself. I have not spent a single day outside of science, I have been working at an academic institute in Karaganda since 1977. At the age of 35, he defended his doctoral thesis. Then I came to Almaty. I've seen a lot of science over the years. Today, I receive only 25 percent from the budget. I earn the rest on my own. I'm not a freeloader.

Using our technologies, which have been developed at the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials over the past 20 years, plants have been built from scratch in Canada, Brazil, Bolivia, Russia, Uzbekistan, China, and Kazakhstan. We are currently building in Iran and Mongolia. These are unique world-class technologies.

It is impossible to be ahead of everyone everywhere. But there are certain areas where Kazakhstani scientists have retained their leadership positions and even multiplied them. The factories that were built using our technologies annually produce products worth 4 billion dollars! Investors, believing in our technologies, spent $3.5 billion to create these plants. I think this is a decent indicator.

- But you said that you cannot claim that all academics have earned membership...

- I try to follow the progress of my colleagues. You know that there are several mathematical schools. I'm an amateur in mathematics, but I'll try to explain anyway. For example, there is classical mathematics, which says that the sum does not change from changing the places of the terms. But there is another one that says that a + b does not equal b + a. And do you know who is the world leader in this area? Kazakh mathematician Askar Dzhumadildaev. He travels all over the world and gives lectures.

Or a Kazakh guy appeared. He is now 21-23 years old, he created a mathematical field where numbers are divided by zero. His achievements have been recognized by the whole world! This is the new math! We have many world-class worthy physicists, mathematicians, chemists, and metallurgists. So there are successes in Kazakh science, we just don't advertise them.… In Kazakhstan, science lives poorly, but the level of scientists is high, especially academics.

- In the letter, scientists claim that the president's orders are being sabotaged. In your opinion, who is doing this and why?

- This is a big question. We didn't catch anyone by the hand, of course, so we can't name anyone by name. But the fact that not only the president's instructions were ignored, but also the status of the Academy of Sciences in the form of the NAO was included among the amendments to some legislative acts on energy, energy conservation and energy efficiency, and then it was quickly sent through the Mazhilis and the Senate and handed to the president for signature, is, of course, sabotage. This law has simply lowered the National Academy of Sciences to a level below any university! I think it was done by those who do not want Tokayev to build a New Kazakhstan.