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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productivity that has become essential to stay <strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> to compete with <strong>the</strong> globalized knowledge<br />
based economy.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> most <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Asian</strong> <strong>countries</strong> <strong>education</strong> at all levels has exp<strong>and</strong>ed at an unprecedented rate<br />
dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> last decade <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> process is still go<strong>in</strong>g on. There are multi-level socio-economic,<br />
political <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational forces that drive this rapid development <strong>in</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> sector. In<br />
<strong>Asian</strong> region <strong>the</strong> importance <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> is on <strong>the</strong> rise due to two ma<strong>in</strong> reasons: rapid<br />
economic growth <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> vast resources both human <strong>and</strong> natural. In Asia many IGOs<br />
are engaged <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> development <strong>and</strong> promotion <strong>of</strong> <strong>education</strong> at all levels that range<br />
from pre-primary to higher <strong>education</strong>.<br />
The ma<strong>in</strong> goal <strong>of</strong> this research is to study, <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> empirical evidence, <strong>the</strong> <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> IGOs<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> Asia. The research is “explanatory” <strong>in</strong> nature as it<br />
attempts to expla<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> IGOs‟ <strong>role</strong> by answer<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> questions what, how <strong>and</strong> why? This research<br />
is more extensive than <strong>in</strong>tensive <strong>in</strong> nature<br />
This research is based on explanatory study <strong>of</strong> three IGOs, which are engaged <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong>: OECD, UNESCO <strong>and</strong> World Bank. The major focus <strong>of</strong> this<br />
research is to <strong>in</strong>vestigate <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> selected IGOs <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher<br />
<strong>education</strong> through outl<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> background <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> IGOs <strong>in</strong>volvement <strong>in</strong> higher <strong>education</strong>,<br />
study<strong>in</strong>g different <strong>in</strong>itiatives, <strong>and</strong> explor<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> result <strong>and</strong> outcomes <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>itiatives <strong>and</strong><br />
activities. To study <strong>the</strong> <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> IGOs, <strong>in</strong> <strong>Asian</strong> higher <strong>education</strong>, two major po<strong>in</strong>ters were used;<br />
<strong>the</strong> first was related to process <strong>of</strong> policy reform <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> member states, restructur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> <strong>education</strong><br />
system, decentralization <strong>and</strong> devolution <strong>of</strong> power at local level <strong>and</strong> more autonomy to higher<br />
<strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong>stitutions. Whereas <strong>the</strong> second po<strong>in</strong>ter was associated with <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
enrolment at post secondary level, <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> school life expectancy form primary to tertiary<br />
level, <strong>and</strong> quality development <strong>and</strong> enhancement <strong>in</strong>itiatives.<br />
Empirical evidence shows that <strong>the</strong> IGOs‟ policy reform <strong>in</strong>itiatives have contributed to <strong>the</strong> change<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> member <strong>countries</strong> as <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> majority <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>countries</strong>, for <strong>the</strong> last two decades, policy<br />
reform process has accelerated <strong>and</strong> it has resulted <strong>in</strong>to more appropriate <strong>education</strong> polices <strong>and</strong><br />
legal <strong>in</strong>struments to serve better <strong>the</strong> needs <strong>of</strong> <strong>education</strong> sector. Likewise an unprecedented<br />
<strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at primary, secondary <strong>and</strong> tertiary levels has been<br />
seen.