American students aren’t too keen on math and science these days. Increasingly, companies are looking overseas to fill tech positions. Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers has an idea:
Concerned by the lack of U.S. students who choose to pursue degrees and careers in math, science, engineering and technology, Congressman Vernon J. Ehlers Tuesday joined with fellow Congressman Frank Wolf in introducing legislation that would pay up to $10,000 in student-loan interest for students who agree to commit at least five years to teaching or working in related fields. The Math and Science Incentive Act of 2005 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday by Wolf, R-Va., with Ehlers, R-Mich., as the legislation’s primary co-sponsor. House Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., also co-sponsored the House legislation, while Sen. John Warner, R-Va., said he planned to introduce companion legislation in the U.S. Senate. The bill would establish a new program through the U.S. Department of Education, under which the government would pay the interest on a student’s loans in exchange for five years in a job related to science, technology, engineering or math (STEM), including teaching in those fields at any level. The government would pay the interest on the loan starting at the beginning of the service requirement up to a maximum of $10,000 per person.
Read on. Via Ed Frauenheim. For more on the outsourcing-education connection, go here (pdf).