“We must have the courage to invest in education. We have to think about the Italy of the future ». Maria Cristina Messa, Minister of University and Research, announces in an interview with the director of La Stampa Massimo Giannini as part of the Gedi tour “The Alphabet of the Future” that the Government is willing to put more funds for science .
In the update note to the economics and finance document just approved by the Council of Ministers, there is a trace of the country’s restart. Are we capturing this recovery?
«The country is starting up again. We knew that it would restart with this intensity, the most interesting element, however, are the forecasts for an increase in GDP also for future years, up to 2024: much higher than in the past. It is a plan that is heavily based on growth, all the investments we will make in this direction are designed to fight debt and deficit ”.
As for education, how is it going with the use of the Green pass?
«In recent days, the resistance to green certificate, even if it should not be underestimated, concerned a clear minority of both the student population and teachers. Almost 85% of students and teachers are happy and ready to film in presence. All universities have reopened, albeit in a variable manner depending on the space. But there is a great desire to start over in presence so I believe that we must give the signal that the obligation of the Green pass is allowing us to get back together. We must not forget, however, that segment of the population that for various reasons is opposed to the provision, therefore the right to distance learning must be guaranteed.».
What do you feel like saying to the thousand university professors who have signed the manifesto against the green certificate and consider it a health dictatorship?
“Meanwhile, we need to go beyond our own ideology. This is a provision that has nothing to do with individual freedom but concerns collective freedom that can only be guaranteed by respecting the freedom of the other. Furthermore, we must underline that the vaccination obligation entails political tensions that at this moment are not good for anyone while the Green pass, with the tampon, still allows you to continue to frequent the places. We cannot go back ».
Will the dad soon belong to a past that we want to forget?
«The dad will have a different future because it is an instrument of connection with the world. It could be used, for example, to unite distant universities, or to reach sick people or working students who cannot attend on a daily basis. I think there are aspects of the dad that can be very useful “.
The country faces an unrepeatable opportunity between the NRP and the return on investment in research. How is the situation?
«It is very positive. Not only will all the measures and financial provisions provided for in the NRP will be adopted, but also all the resources that our government can put in place to provide system stability. The first measure that has been made is the investment of the Italian Science Fund whose purpose is to support fundamental research. It is a way to support the ideas of researchers. The announcement was published today (yesterday for those who read, ed) and has 50 million available, which will be 150 million from next year. They are individual concessions of 1-1.5 million each. So there will not be many but they will serve to relaunch the world of ideas and research that continued to exist in Europe while in Italy it was interrupted ».
How do you increase the number of our teachers which is low?
“We have a five-year plan to bring the number back to close to the European average. This increase must concern not only the teachers but also the support staff at the school. We must also review our system for assessing the quality of institutions and teachers ».