Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...
Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...
Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...
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5.1.4 UNESCO-Bangkok <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> Asia<br />
UNESCO-Bangkok <strong>of</strong>fice is engaged <strong>in</strong> many activities to address issues <strong>and</strong> challenges<br />
perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> member <strong>countries</strong>. Some major areas <strong>of</strong><br />
action are: higher <strong>education</strong> reforms, access, equity, diversification, governance <strong>and</strong><br />
management, research capacity development, private sector, Accreditation <strong>and</strong> quality assurance,<br />
<strong>and</strong> cross border higher <strong>education</strong> (Lee & Healy, 2006) UNESCO Bangkok <strong>of</strong>fice is support<strong>in</strong>g<br />
policy reforms <strong>and</strong> capacity development. To achieve <strong>the</strong>se objectives, this <strong>of</strong>fice is us<strong>in</strong>g<br />
publications <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>formal <strong>and</strong> formal tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g as effective tools. Researcher has assumed that<br />
UNESCO <strong>role</strong> can be studied through <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itiatives that have been taken to support, promote<br />
<strong>and</strong> develop higher <strong>education</strong> through capacity development measures. Such measures also<br />
<strong>in</strong>clude publications <strong>and</strong> activities like conferences, workshops <strong>and</strong> forums.<br />
Research studies, publications, country reports, guidel<strong>in</strong>es <strong>and</strong> policy documents play an<br />
important <strong>role</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> transformation, reform, expansion, <strong>and</strong> quality development <strong>of</strong><br />
higher <strong>education</strong> sector. Due to this importance <strong>of</strong> publications, Bangkok <strong>of</strong>fice gives priority to<br />
<strong>the</strong> quality st<strong>and</strong>ards <strong>in</strong> both content <strong>and</strong> presentation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> material so that publications can<br />
fulfill <strong>the</strong>ir important <strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> fur<strong>the</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> <strong>education</strong>al development <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> region as well as <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> world (UNESCO-Bangkok, 2007)<br />
Dissem<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> ideas <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
In today‟s <strong>in</strong>formation society <strong>the</strong> exchange <strong>and</strong> flow <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>novative ideas <strong>and</strong> productive<br />
<strong>in</strong>formation has become an effective tools for transformation <strong>and</strong> reformation <strong>of</strong> human<br />
societies. With <strong>the</strong> advancement <strong>in</strong> ICTs <strong>the</strong> accessibility to <strong>in</strong>formation has also <strong>in</strong>creased so<br />
now it is possible to reach who had never been reached <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> past. The new technological<br />
developments have not only broadened <strong>the</strong> opportunities <strong>and</strong> also have made <strong>the</strong> task more<br />
challeng<strong>in</strong>g.<br />
The Asia <strong>and</strong> Pacific Regional Bureau for Education is UNESCO‟s most productive publisher <strong>of</strong><br />
books <strong>and</strong> public <strong>in</strong>formation materials among all field UNESCO <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> world<br />
(UNESCO-Bangkok, 2007). This <strong>of</strong>fice has published <strong>and</strong> distributed thous<strong>and</strong>s <strong>of</strong> volumes <strong>of</strong><br />
books, pamphlets, audio-video <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r material. Despite <strong>of</strong> such a rich history <strong>of</strong> document<br />
production, <strong>the</strong>re exists no data repository, which can provide detailed <strong>and</strong> organized <strong>in</strong>formation<br />
on <strong>the</strong> documents produced <strong>and</strong>, events <strong>and</strong> activities arranged by UNESCO or UNESCO-