As the third member of the Government to answer questions before the National Assembly on the morning of June 7, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat spent more than 2 hours answering questions from delegates. 120 delegates registered to question Minister Dat, a "record" number since the beginning of the session.
With the spirit of "trying to grasp the proposals and aspirations of voters nationwide through the questions of delegates to perfect the mechanism, policies and orientations for implementing science, technology and innovation tasks", Minister Dat frankly answered many questions and debates of delegates.
Delegate Tran Thi Dieu Thuy (Chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation) said that one of the factors in implementing the strategy for developing science, technology and innovation is the participation of researchers and scientists. However, in addition to the support of the scientific community for the above strategy, they hope that the Government will have a specific mechanism, accept risks in science, and remove administrative barriers in management and scientific research. "What solutions does the Minister have for this problem?" she asked.
Chairing the meeting, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said this is an issue of concern to many voters and delegates. "The Minister will help clarify the views on whether to accept risks in scientific research or not, and whether to bureaucratize research activities or not," Hue said.
Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said that in 2023, the Ministry will revise the circular on the management of scientific and technological research projects and tasks simultaneously, ensuring connectivity and synchronization. The Ministry has established a working group, and basic circulars have been formed. Recently, 5 new circulars have been issued to restructure national science and technology programs. Many regulations have been abolished, such as scientists who are the principal investigators of scientific research topics that fail to pass the acceptance test are not allowed to participate in scientific and technological tasks for the next two years.
"We are very concerned about the specificity, risks, and delays of science and technology," said Mr. Dat, adding that previously, if any scientist did not complete his scientific task, he would not be able to continue registering for the next two years and the host unit would be affected to a certain extent. This made scientists very concerned, causing obstacles because scientific research could succeed or fail, succeed sooner or later, so it was necessary to take into account the specificity of risks and delays. Now this regulation has been abolished by the Ministry.
Minister Huynh Thanh Dat answers questions from delegate Tran Thi Dieu Thuy. Video: National Assembly Television
The head of the science and technology sector said that on May 17, the Prime Minister attended the conference marking the 60th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's involvement in science and technology. The Prime Minister affirmed that risks and delays in scientific research must be accepted. "I really appreciate the Prime Minister's statement that science is the shortest path to prosperity," said Mr. Dat, adding that the Ministry is trying to encourage scientists to actively participate in scientific research and innovation.
"I hope that competent authorities will have more trust in scientists, and give them appropriate authority, mechanisms, and policies so that they can promote their capacity and contributions," said the Minister.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has coordinated with the Ministry of Finance to study and amend Circular 27 on spending allocation, simplifying procurement and payment procedures, and reducing paperwork that scientists and managers often complain about: "Sometimes there are more payment documents than scientific documents." If the spending allocation is true to the final product, the paperwork will only be half or one-third.
The budget and finance of the science and technology sector also need to be specific because scientific research cannot be as precise as other production activities. Therefore, it is very difficult for agencies to calculate and build norms as well as efficiency and profit.
Also concerned about the specificity of the science and technology sector, delegate Huynh Thanh Phuong (Secretary of Go Dau District Party Committee, Tay Ninh Province) asked the Minister to let him know what solutions and policies the State has in place to organize science and technology, improve autonomy, advanced management, and effective operations in the coming time.
Delegate Huynh Thanh Phuong. Photo: National Assembly Media
Minister Dat said Decree 60 stipulates financial autonomy for State organizations and public service units, which is a document that creates conditions for public service units to promote autonomy and carry out assigned tasks. However, public service units in Vietnam have many fields such as health, education, and science. Each system has different characteristics, so Decree 60 cannot regulate the specific fields of science and technology, leading to many problems.
Mr. Dat said he has proposed that the Government consider developing a separate decree on autonomy for science and technology organizations in a more comprehensive direction regarding organizational structure, tasks, finance and asset management.
Scientific research is finding something new, it can be successful or it can be a failure.
Delegate Le Thanh Van (Standing Member of the Finance and Budget Committee) asked the Minister to tell him how many of the state budget-funded projects have been applied and how many have brought about practical results in the past five years. "Where is the policy trigger point for Vietnam to make breakthroughs in science and technology, especially in state management, economic development and national defense and security?", Mr. Van asked.
Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said that in recent years, the Party, State and National Assembly have paid great attention to science, technology and innovation. In the context of economic difficulties, the National Assembly still allocated funds for the industry and the Ministry of Science and Technology at a rate of 0.64% of GDP.
Delegate Le Thanh Van. Photo: National Assembly Media
Scientific and technological activities are very special, because the nature of research is to find something new, which can be successful, fail or succeed sooner or later. Therefore, it is very difficult to calculate specifically how many topics have been put into application. The important thing is to determine that the results first serve socio-economic development and improve the capacity of the research team, contributing to the reputation of institutes and universities.
In fact, the research results have contributed to improving the rankings of universities in the region and internationally. Currently, there are 9 universities appearing on the world ranking map. This is the result of scientific development and innovation.
"All topics have risks and delays, and sometimes not all topics have results, especially in the transfer and commercialization work," the Minister emphasized.
According to him, the current mechanisms and policies still have many problems and many issues that need to be resolved, including the decree on public asset ownership management and the Law on Intellectual Property. Therefore, the Ministry will recommend the Government to adjust policies, create conditions for technology transfer, and meet development needs.
Some Vietnamese technology industries are internationally competitive.
Delegate Tran Thi Hong Thanh (Deputy Head of Ninh Binh Delegation) stated that in order to develop the science and technology market, since 2011, the State management apparatus for science and technology has been strengthened from the central to local levels, many policies have been issued but the science and technology market is still limited. "Can the Minister explain why the science and technology market has not developed and what is the fundamental solution?", she questioned.
Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said that the Ministry has issued many regulations and circulars to promote the transfer of science and technology and bring about many results, applying new and advanced technologies in the fields of health, telecommunications, and transportation. Some industries are internationally competitive, participating deeply in the application chain.
Delegate Tran Thi Hong Thanh. Photo: National Assembly Media
However, there are some policies that have not been effective, it is difficult to reach businesses, the accompanying services are not effective, and the budget is limited. The Ministry will recommend the Government to adjust the policy mechanism to suit the reality, especially promoting the program of seeking and transferring technology mastery from abroad to Vietnam.
Linking universities and businesses is a solution to improve training quality and technology transfer. However, delegate Nguyen Dai Thang (Deputy Head of Hung Yen Delegation) said that this work still has many limitations. He asked the Minister to propose measures to resolve the problems.
The Minister of Science and Technology said that this is a problem that he is very concerned about. Previously, schools operated according to schools, businesses operated according to businesses without any organic and effective connection. Recently, the State has had policies and mechanisms to bring these two areas closer together.
As a midwife, the State creates mechanisms and environments for businesses and universities to need each other. The Ministry is proposing mechanisms, regulations and solutions to form an innovation system, in which businesses are the center, and schools and institutes are the research subjects, creating an environment for the two sides to coordinate closely and effectively.
Delegate Nguyen Thi Lan Anh (Lao Cai College) said that the handling of ash and slag from thermal power plants, chemicals and fertilizers in recent times has caused outrage in many localities across the country. The Prime Minister has directed and assigned responsibilities to ministries and branches to handle this issue. She asked the Minister to clarify the responsibilities and specific solutions for the above issues.
Delegate Nguyen Thi Lan Anh. Photo: National Assembly Media
The Minister of Science and Technology said that in 2021, the total ash and slag of thermal power plants nationwide was about 16 billion tons; by the end of 2021, the total amount of ash and slag consumed was about 48.4 billion tons. Ash and slag affect the environment and people's health, so the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to find a solution to handle it.
Up to now, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment have discussed and proposed many solutions, such as ash and slag being used as construction materials, producing concrete, unburnt bricks, and construction materials. The Ministry of Science and Technology has announced 15 Vietnamese standards and one standard related to ash and slag to limit ash and slag emissions into the environment.
In recent years, the Ministry has submitted to the Prime Minister a list, roadmap, means and energy equipment to be eliminated, including thermal power plants and low-efficiency coal-fired power plants. In the coming time, the Ministry will study new energy sources to compensate so that when coal-fired thermal power is reduced, there will be additional energy sources.
This afternoon, the Minister of Science and Technology has one hour to continue answering questions from National Assembly deputies.
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