Implications for North – South Dialogue

Globalisation and Higher Education

,

UNESCO

Mandate for HE in UN

Universal Membership

,

“That the wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are

indispensable to the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all nations must fulfil in a spirit of mutual assistance and

concern.”

,

“For these reasons, the States Parties to this Constitution, believing in full and equal opportunities for education for all, in the

unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, are

agreed and determined to develop and increase the means of communication between their peoples and to employ these means for the

purposes of mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other’s

lives.”

,

“For these reasons, the States Parties to this Constitution, believing in full and equal opportunities for education for all, in the

unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, are

agreed and determined to develop and increase the means of communication between their peoples and to employ these means for the

purposes of mutual understanding and a truer and more perfect knowledge of each other’s

lives.”

Truth is universal

HE is international

Truth is universal

HE is international

Ideas always mobile

TRADING TO LEARN, LEARNING TO TRADE

WHERE IS THE PUBLIC GOOD?

Globalisation and Higher Education

Trading Higher Education: the Irony

Free trade makes all richer

Trading Higher Education: the Irony

Free trade makes all richer but some countries:

Oppose free trade in agriculture

Trading Higher Education: the Irony

Free trade makes all richer but some countries:

Oppose free trade in agriculture

Support free trade in services

Trading Higher Education: the Irony

Putting HE within GATS is opposed by the HE community in some countries that support it

Trading Higher Education: the Irony

The heat of debate is inversely proportion to the amount of date available.

Higher Education as a Public Good

Higher Education as a Public Good

‘Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the

basis of merit’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 26 (1)

Higher Education as a Public Good

‘Higher education should be considered a public service. While diversified sources of funding, private and public, are necessary; public support for higher education and research remains essential to ensure a balanced achievement of its educational and social missions.’

World Conference on Higher Education 1998

…countries with a regime of tuition fees accompanied by bursary schemes enrol more students in higher education – and from a broader socio-economic base – than those where higher education is free. Degree completion is also higher.

,

‘PUBLIC’

and

‘STATE’

are not

synonyms

DO NOT FEAR THE NEW:

- distance learning

- transborder education

DO NOT FEAR THE NEW:

- distance learning

- transborder education

‘through such developments web-based learning materials could become a free commodity available worldwide, giving a new meaning to the term ‘free trade’.’

,

UNESCO

Supporting the open source courseware movement

GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS

GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS

- Mechanisms: accreditation/QA

- Frameworks: open source courseware

Develop the

REGIONAL CONVENTIONS

Develop the

REGIONAL CONVENTIONS

Strength: International instruments

Develop the

REGIONAL CONVENTIONS

Strength: International instruments

Weakness: Currently too general

OPEN SOURCE COURSEWARE

Is a framework necessary?

,

UNESCO1998 World Conference on Higher Education

“owing to the scope and pace of change higher education must

proceed to the most radical change and renewal that it has ever been

required to undertake.”

Education for All

TRADING TO LEARN, LEARNING TO TRADE

WHERE IS THE PUBLIC GOOD?

Globalisation and Higher Education