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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<strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational levels <strong>and</strong> overall productivity <strong>of</strong> a nation (Bleiklie, 2007). In this regard<br />
nations struggle to reform, reframe <strong>and</strong> restructure policies <strong>and</strong> system perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to higher<br />
<strong>education</strong> to <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>the</strong> share <strong>of</strong> highly educated population to stay <strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> to compete with <strong>the</strong><br />
globalized knowledge based economy.<br />
In Asia <strong>education</strong> particularly higher <strong>education</strong> is exp<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g at an unprecedented rate. <strong>Asian</strong><br />
cont<strong>in</strong>ent be<strong>in</strong>g an emerg<strong>in</strong>g economic region, vast hub <strong>of</strong> human capital <strong>and</strong> natural resources<br />
has a prom<strong>in</strong>ent place at <strong>in</strong>ternational stage. Globalization has pr<strong>of</strong>oundly <strong>in</strong>fluenced higher<br />
<strong>education</strong> all regions (Altbach, Reisberg, & Rumbley, 2009). In <strong>Asian</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>role</strong><br />
<strong>of</strong> external forces is significant that is evident from <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> reforms, restructur<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
<strong>in</strong>novation, <strong>and</strong> transformation at different levels. These external forces are <strong>of</strong> many forms <strong>and</strong><br />
types: IGOs, networks, forums, peer pressure <strong>and</strong> even <strong>countries</strong>. <strong>Asian</strong> region has acquired an<br />
important position <strong>in</strong> <strong>and</strong> focus <strong>of</strong> IGOs. At present many IGOs are engaged <strong>in</strong> this region to<br />
develop <strong>and</strong> promote <strong>education</strong> at all levels, from pre-primary to higher <strong>education</strong>.<br />
In recent years <strong>the</strong>re have been <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g dem<strong>and</strong>s to measure <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
development projects launched by <strong>the</strong> IGOs (Bamberger, Rao, & Woolcock, 2009). This dem<strong>and</strong><br />
is due to three major reasons: <strong>the</strong>se organizations have been spend<strong>in</strong>g a huge amount <strong>of</strong> human<br />
<strong>and</strong> material resources for <strong>the</strong> last many decades; most reports <strong>and</strong> research studies presented by<br />
<strong>the</strong>se IGOs give <strong>in</strong>formation on <strong>the</strong> outputs not outcomes; <strong>and</strong> still many objectives set by IGOs<br />
could not be achieved. In this regard, it is very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to explore how, when <strong>and</strong> why <strong>the</strong>se<br />
<strong>in</strong>ternational actors act, react <strong>and</strong> cooperate with each o<strong>the</strong>r. The answers <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se questions need<br />
a lot <strong>of</strong> research, which is out <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> scope <strong>of</strong> our present study.<br />
There exists literature <strong>of</strong> significant worth on <strong>the</strong> socio-economic <strong>and</strong> political <strong>role</strong>s <strong>of</strong> IGOs <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> world but very little on <strong>the</strong> <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> IGOs <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> with a focus<br />
on Asia. This research aims to provide some <strong>in</strong>formation on this subject by study<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> IGOs<br />
<strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> Asia. This is <strong>the</strong> first macro study <strong>of</strong> its k<strong>in</strong>d that<br />
has brought Organization for Economic Cooperation <strong>and</strong> Development (OECD), United Nations<br />
Educational, Scientific <strong>and</strong> Cultural Organization (UNESCO) <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> World Bank <strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
limelight by analyz<strong>in</strong>g how are <strong>the</strong>se IGOs react<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> respond<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> knowledge revolution<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>Asian</strong> region? What are <strong>the</strong>ir program <strong>and</strong> projects for <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong><br />
Asia? Are <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>itiatives <strong>of</strong> any importance for <strong>the</strong> region?