Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

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certainly today we have had a different scenario. At the same time we should not miss to see that
investment in primary and secondary education has indirect positive impact on the demand,
growth and development of higher education in Asia. The rapid progress towards EFA and
increasing demand for skilled labor contributed to an expansion of education at all levels
(Varghese N. , 2010)
UNESCO is not the only stakeholder that is responsible for the development of higher education
in Asia. As far as the UNESCO role is concerned we should see whether it efficiently played its
role in its member countries through policy directions, capacity building, technical assistance,
information sharing and monitoring, and reporting. This approach will enable us to learn about
the IGOs‟ role in process of development of higher education. There is possibility that in some
cases UNESCO has performed well and properly fulfilled its functions but the results and
outcomes were little. In such cases, as we saw in Game Theory, the cooperation from both sides
can only produce the desired results.
The IGOs initiatives of strengthening primary education sub-sector through the Education For
All (EFA) program launched in early 1990s led to an increase in the enrolment at secondary level
and subsequently resulted in the expansion of higher education (Varghese N. , 2004).
Consequently the GER at tertiary level has increased significantly in all Asian countries during
the last the first decade of this century and it is further on the rise. Further UNESCO through
different initiatives prepared the ground for the future development of education particularly in
the low income and lower-middle income countries. UNESCO initiatives are helpful in
facilitating disadvantaged communities to participate, contribute and benefit from the pool of
knowledge (Haddad 2005).
In Asia, before 1980s, though the size of higher education was not so large, it was expanding
continuously in many countries according to the UNESCO data. However the economic crisis in
1980s had resulted in resources cutbacks for higher education that put a negative impact on its
growth. During this period student enrolment in the most of the countries declined (Altbach P. ,
1984). The rate of return studies of the 1970s which showed lower returns to investment in
higher education in comparison with primary levels, and increased political support for basic
education in the 1980s, contributed to a shift in investment priorities in favor of primary
education (Varghese N. , 2010). The World Bank studies, in early 1980s, to analyze the rate of