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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6.2 Key F<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs<br />
242<br />
IGOs‟ participation <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> development <strong>and</strong> promotion <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> is a recent<br />
phenomenon. This new change can be attributed to two ma<strong>in</strong> events: an <strong>in</strong>creased socio-<br />
economic importance <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>and</strong> an enhanced <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> IGOs <strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational politics.<br />
The <strong>in</strong>creased dem<strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong>, at national <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>ternational levels, is putt<strong>in</strong>g fur<strong>the</strong>r<br />
pressure on IGOs to play an effective <strong>role</strong> through enhanced <strong>in</strong>teraction with states <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r<br />
IGOs. In order to respond <strong>the</strong> chang<strong>in</strong>g need <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> society today many IGOs have higher<br />
<strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir agenda <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>ternational bodies are engaged <strong>in</strong> its development <strong>in</strong><br />
different way.<br />
OECD, UNESCO <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> World Bank are active <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> processes <strong>of</strong> policy reforms <strong>and</strong> capacity<br />
build<strong>in</strong>g measures perta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g to <strong>education</strong> sector along with o<strong>the</strong>r sectors. As far as higher<br />
<strong>education</strong> is concerned, though <strong>the</strong>se organizations have <strong>the</strong> same objective, “<strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong><br />
higher <strong>education</strong>”, <strong>the</strong> three organizations follow different models. Likewise <strong>the</strong> goals vary from<br />
organization to organization <strong>and</strong> are <strong>of</strong>ten <strong>in</strong>tangible; thus <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> adequate measures<br />
<strong>of</strong> organizational effectiveness has been very difficult (Marcus <strong>and</strong> Cafagna 1965). At <strong>the</strong> same<br />
time <strong>the</strong>se organizations have many commonalities <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>in</strong>itiatives: support<strong>in</strong>g policy reforms,<br />
consensus build<strong>in</strong>g among <strong>the</strong> stakeholders; provid<strong>in</strong>g assistance for capacity development <strong>and</strong><br />
support<strong>in</strong>g quality <strong>in</strong>itiatives. As without <strong>in</strong>formation development is impossible (Brosius <strong>and</strong><br />
Garner 1997), so <strong>the</strong> IGOs under study give great importance to shar<strong>in</strong>g experiences,<br />
dissem<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> <strong>in</strong>formation through publications, reports <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r documents, ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g<br />
data repositories etc. IGOs‟ objectives <strong>and</strong> level <strong>of</strong> engagement <strong>in</strong> common actions po<strong>in</strong>t towards<br />
uniformity <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir goals <strong>and</strong> convergence <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir attitude as a result <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>ternational bodies<br />
are <strong>in</strong>fluenc<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational systems (Jacobson 1984). In <strong>the</strong> follow<strong>in</strong>g section <strong>the</strong> f<strong>in</strong>d<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>of</strong><br />
this study have been presented <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> detail for each organization.<br />
6.2.1 United Nations Educational, Cultural <strong>and</strong> Scientific Organization (UNESCO)<br />
In Asia, UNESCO is contribut<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> development process through field<br />
<strong>of</strong>fices, networks <strong>and</strong> <strong>of</strong>ficial relations with o<strong>the</strong>r IGOs. UNESCO has produced many<br />
conventions <strong>and</strong> declarations which act as not only <strong>in</strong>ternational legal documents <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> support<br />
<strong>and</strong> promotion <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> but also helpful <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> creation <strong>of</strong> new laws <strong>and</strong> br<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g policy<br />
reforms <strong>in</strong> <strong>education</strong> sector. Many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Asian</strong> <strong>countries</strong> have ratified, approved or accepted