‘India, China competing with America’

WASHINGTON: In his annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday, President George W Bush called for a new emphasis on math and science education in the American school system to strengthen the country’s economy, while referring to the achievements of India and China.

Lamenting the status of US competitiveness in the global economy, Bush announced a new $136 billion, 10-year “American competitiveness agenda” that would employ the nation’s technology and research and development prowess to keep its economic edge against competitors like China and India.

As part of that plan, he proposed the US government would train 70,000 additional high school teachers to lead advanced-placement courses in math and science “and give early help to students so they have a better chance at high, well-paying jobs”.

He said he wanted to double federal funds “to the most critical basic research programmes in physical sciences over the next 10 years” leading to hope for breakthroughs in such fields as nanotechnology, supercomputing, and alternative energy sources.