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Two stories have been making news lately. First is an advertisement for buying and selling of a wide variety of post- secondary educational institutions in India; the online advertisement provides opportunities for all kinds of institutionsâuniversities, engineering and medical colleges, business schools. In the context of out-moded and out-dated regulatory framework, getting the âlicenseâ to operate a post-secondary educational institution is a major business opportunity in India today.
Another story broke out in Chile last year; students of a private university launched a protest as it was âsoldâ to another owner. Gradually, the protest spread to other institutions of higher education in the country. Student campaign focused on the absence of good quality and affordable post-secondary education for all Chileans. Soon, the protest was joined by high school students, parents and teachers, their associations and unions. The campaign forced the Chilean government to have a dialogue with the students and other movement representatives.
These two contrasting stories have many implications for our reflections. First, the post-secondary education seems to have acquired the character of consumption goodsâyou pay as you consume. Institutions of higher education are no longer seen as providing for public goods of knowledge, learning and education. How has this situation come about? Second, the student movements in recent decades have been politically mobilized for various causes, other than issues affecting post-secondary education. In countries where major reforms in higher education are taking place, there is a somewhat disturbing absence of participation of students, future students and parents. Chilean student movement, therefore, brings a breath of fresh air. Third, the drive to internationalise higher education has been narrowly defined as student recruitment and faculty exchanges. There has been little effort to globalize the process of reforming institutions of higher education such that they become more globally relevant today. Students can play an important role in this regard.
It is perhaps critical to engage various stakeholders in this period of great re-structuring of higher education world-wide. Participation of students and parents is critical in this process, as shown in the Chilean experience. Indian story, on the other hand, suggests that market forces have begun to dominate higher education in the country.
Revival of higher education as an opportunity for reconnecting with the past in order to face the future in an ethical manner is possibly being attempted in a new Nalanda University in India; it is trying to build a new hybrid pedagogy that integrates the epistemologies of local knowledge with the more rationalist ones. However, some of the well-known experts of higher education seem to suggest that the way to set-up a new university is to locate it in a metro, provide lots of money for its infrastructure and research, get the best international scholars and make it known globally. This âstandardâ approach to incubating a new institution of higher education may well be in contrast to a more local, community-driven process of building an institution which does not look for global experts, and yet creates a pedagogy that is relevant to the professional and social needs of that community.
It is perhaps a moment of crossroads for institutions of higher education; the path they choose may be one of trading, or one of reviving higher education in the future.
PRIA’s MobiliseHER team traveled to Bangalore during the week of June, 10 – 14, 2024. The aim of the visit was to gain relevant insights into the civil society ecosystem in Bangalore and meet different organisations to understand the city through a lens of gender and inclusive mobility.
Working at PRIA, often leads us to various cities across the country. Each trip is an opportunity to witness firsthand the challenges and triumphs of different communities.
Mr. Yedukrishnan V has recently joined PRIA after gaining valuable experience in the development sector. Drawing from his journey in the social sector and personal encounters in Kerala, he emphasises the importance of participatory governance and research in empowering marginalised communities.'
