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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Conclusions<br />
263<br />
The <strong>in</strong>creased number <strong>of</strong> International Organizations <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r <strong>in</strong>ternational actors has made <strong>the</strong><br />
world political structure complex. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore recent socio-economic development <strong>and</strong> cultural<br />
changes pose new challenges to <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> collaboration <strong>and</strong> cooperation at <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
level. In this complex environment, IGOs be<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>ternational actors play an important <strong>role</strong> to<br />
<strong>in</strong>itiate <strong>and</strong> promote cooperation at <strong>in</strong>ternational level. The level <strong>and</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> state-IGOs <strong>and</strong><br />
sate-state <strong>in</strong>teraction vary from one government to o<strong>the</strong>r. In this regard, it is very <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g to<br />
explore how, when <strong>and</strong> why <strong>the</strong>se <strong>in</strong>ternational actors act, react <strong>and</strong> cooperate to achieve mutual<br />
objectives <strong>in</strong> different sector <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>education</strong>. The available evidence <strong>in</strong>dicates that IGOs are<br />
active players <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>education</strong> sector for <strong>the</strong> last many decades but <strong>the</strong>ir active participation <strong>in</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> development <strong>and</strong> promotion <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> is a recent phenomenon <strong>and</strong> with <strong>the</strong><br />
passage <strong>of</strong> time <strong>the</strong>ir presence is <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g. This shift <strong>in</strong> IGOs stance can be attributed to two<br />
ma<strong>in</strong> factors: <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>creased importance <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> <strong>in</strong> human capital development <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> enhanced <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> IGOs <strong>in</strong> socio-economic development. 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 play<strong>in</strong>g an active <strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> its<br />
development <strong>and</strong> promotion <strong>in</strong> Asia as well.<br />
The development <strong>of</strong> higher <strong>education</strong> is a complex phenomenon <strong>and</strong>, when many actors <strong>and</strong><br />
factors are <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> development, study<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> impact <strong>of</strong> any program or to<br />
identify or assess <strong>the</strong> share <strong>of</strong> any one IGO <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> process <strong>of</strong> change, is very difficult. However,<br />
to exam<strong>in</strong>e <strong>the</strong> <strong>role</strong> <strong>of</strong> an IGO, it is more appropriate to study how efficiently an IGO played its<br />
<strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> its member <strong>countries</strong> through policy directions, capacity build<strong>in</strong>g measures, technical <strong>and</strong><br />
f<strong>in</strong>ancial assistance, <strong>in</strong>formation shar<strong>in</strong>g, monitor<strong>in</strong>g, <strong>and</strong> report<strong>in</strong>g. This approach enabled us to<br />
study <strong>the</strong> IGOs <strong>role</strong> <strong>in</strong> depth.<br />
This research was 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 was 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>