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 ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
1<br />
Abstract<br />
The <strong>in</strong>ternational community is <strong>in</strong>terl<strong>in</strong>ked <strong>in</strong> such a coherent way that <strong>in</strong> today‟s globalized<br />
world <strong>the</strong> socio-economic development cannot be achieved <strong>in</strong> isolation. Moreover <strong>the</strong> scientific<br />
<strong>and</strong> technological developments have led to an enhanced <strong>in</strong>teraction <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>terdependency at<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational level. The new ICTs have herald <strong>the</strong> digital era <strong>and</strong> knowledge based economy.<br />
Today knowledge is becom<strong>in</strong>g borderless as <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>novative ideas are no more<br />
restricted to political boundaries <strong>of</strong> a country but flow cont<strong>in</strong>uously <strong>in</strong> all parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> world. In<br />
this context <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> <strong>education</strong>, particularly higher <strong>education</strong> has <strong>in</strong>creased fur<strong>the</strong>r <strong>and</strong><br />
it is develop<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> exp<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> all regions. The rapid expansion <strong>and</strong> extension <strong>of</strong> higher<br />
<strong>education</strong>, <strong>in</strong> this globalized world, depend on <strong>the</strong> collective efforts <strong>of</strong> different stakeholders at<br />
state <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational level. In this context nation centered policies <strong>and</strong> isolated national efforts<br />
to develop higher <strong>education</strong> are not adequate to develop fully <strong>the</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>and</strong> to make<br />
relevant to <strong>the</strong> national <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational needs <strong>of</strong> a society. Thus to face <strong>the</strong>se new challenges<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational organization particularly <strong>in</strong>tergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are play<strong>in</strong>g an<br />
active <strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> a variety <strong>of</strong> way.<br />
The active participation <strong>of</strong> multiple actors, at national <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational levels, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
multifaceted contributions <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> field <strong>of</strong> <strong>education</strong>, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g higher <strong>education</strong>, have given IGOs<br />
dynamic <strong>and</strong> chang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>role</strong>s to play. These <strong>in</strong>ternational bodies are rapidly becom<strong>in</strong>g an <strong>in</strong>tegral<br />
part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational society <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> circle <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir activities is cont<strong>in</strong>uously exp<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g. In<br />
recent years <strong>the</strong> dem<strong>and</strong> to measure <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> IGOs has <strong>in</strong>creased due to three major<br />
reasons: <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong> IGOs is cont<strong>in</strong>uously <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g, huge amount <strong>of</strong> resources are poured<br />
<strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong>se bodies but still many <strong>of</strong> objectives set by IGOs could not be achieved. In this regard, it<br />
is very important to explore how, when <strong>and</strong> why <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>ternational actors act, react <strong>and</strong><br />
cooperate with each o<strong>the</strong>r.<br />
The level <strong>and</strong> type <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> a country affect <strong>the</strong> efficiency <strong>and</strong> overall productivity<br />
<strong>of</strong> a nation. Ow<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased importance <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong>, nations are struggl<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
reform, reframe <strong>and</strong> restructure policies <strong>and</strong> systems perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to higher <strong>education</strong> with an<br />
objective to <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>the</strong> share <strong>of</strong> highly educated population. It can improve <strong>the</strong> economic