CONFERENCE THEMES

Vision, purpose and aims of higher education in developing countries

It is often argued that education is a practical activity and educational practitioners and policymakers sometimes show disdain for theoretical discussions. Yet, underpinning any educational system are philosophies of life and visions of society, of nature, of human beings and their place in the universe. In a society these philosophies and visions often compete with each other. The structure and content of higher education is a powerful interpretation of the underlying philosophical core of any society. It reflects both the future oriented stance of education and its implicit valuation of the past. This theme will explore both the vision and philosophical aims that underlie higher education in general and the ideas proposed by scholars for higher education in Muslim contexts in particular. The question of approaching Muslim history and thought in an intellectually sound and also morally inspiring manner acquires added significance for institutions of higher learning in Muslim societies.

Reforms and innovations in higher education: successes and lessons learned

This theme considers reforms in higher education over the last century from a variety of perspectives. Large scale national reform endeavours are the first category. These are often associated with a renewed sense of identity and of faith in education as a route to development and progress. The second is sector reform; for example, the reform in information technology seen in several developing countries in the last decade. Sector reform often takes place in the wake of growing economic opportunities in a particular area. While sometimes opening new avenues for a segment of the population, such asymmetrical moves often lead to the deepening of economic imbalances within societies. The third level of reform and innovation is in terms of emancipation and social justice. These include reforms to increase access and equity or the introduction of new and critical approaches in teaching and research. With particular emphasis on Muslim contexts, the theme will consider the underlying ethos, intellectual currents and social conditions necessitating as well as guiding such reforms. Particular attention will be paid to the cultural forces fostering or hindering the reform activities. Successful as well as failed reforms will both have something to contribute in the discussion.

The following are sub-themes of the conference:

1. Academic Issues: Teaching and Learning
2. Academic Issues: Research
3. Governance and Management
4. Human and Material Resources
5. Higher Education, the Global Context and Developing Countries
6. Quality Assurance

I. Academic Issues I: Teaching and Learning

Since the time of Plato's Academy, teaching and learning have been at the heart of higher education. Good teaching has not only been a source of cognitive development but also a crucial source of moral and intellectual inspiration for the newcomers into the academic community. In the context of developing countries, the importance of teaching and learning becomes even more significant, given the daunting challenges and shortcomings in other aspects of higher education such as limited material and human resources, issues of governance and management, etc. In fact, it could be argued that whatever quality is found in these institutions is mainly due to the commitment of individual teachers and their gifted students. The constraints of resources and other impediments are likely to continue for some time to come. What creative pedagogies are being used to produce good quality, even in pockets, under such situations? What can be learned from these efforts? How can this process be strengthened? Within this overall situation, education in the social sciences and humanities suffers the most. In light of the acute need for scientific capacities in developing countries, it has been argued that general liberal education is a luxury only wealthy countries can afford. On the other hand, the ability to think broadly and critically, reason about moral issues, be active citizens and appreciate the arts and literature appear to be as necessary for a healthy society as technical skills and knowledge. A general liberal education aims to provide just this sort of balance. Indeed, we must ponder on how utilitarian needs can be fulfilled without sacrificing aesthetic and ethical needs?

II. Academic Issues II: Research

One of the biggest challenges to the quality of higher education in developing countries is the absence, with a few notable exceptions, of a research culture. On the one hand, this is linked to the availability of resources, particularly in scientific research. By its very nature, scientific research demands ongoing expenditure to create, sustain and expand physical infrastructure like laboratories and libraries. Low and middle income countries spend on average 3.3% of their GNP on higher education compared to 5.0% by high income countries. Translated into absolute monetary terms the gap is enormous. On the other hand, brain drain, poor infrastructure and limited interactions with scholars around the world hamper the intellectual capacities necessary to foster research. The advances in information technology have created new opportunities to access knowledge and have led to expanding international linkages and the reach of educational programmes in both geographical and temporal dimensions. These thus provide the single most important avenue for advancing a research culture in developing countries. Related to this is the current and potential role of higher learning and philanthropic institutions in developed countries for promoting research by subsidizing publications, sponsoring scholars and supporting students needs to be explored. This sub-theme reflectS upon these dilemmas and challenges and will seek to find creative ways to improve research in the higher education systems of the developing world.

III. Governance and management

Higher education acquires a special importance due to its capacity to bring about a positive change in other institutions of society through its contribution to human resource development for these institutions. The realisation of this potential will require good governance and management among institutions of higher education themselves. Several recent reports on higher education in developing countries have pointed to the crisis of management and governance as a key challenge in higher education. The challenge has to do with, among other things, the issues of policy-making practices (including availability of data), political interference and accountability. The traditions of governance vary from society to society. The issues of the role, perception and exercise of power and authority are intimately linked to the culture and history of a place. Yet, arguably, there are some principles of good governance that apply across the board. Through case studies, the sub-theme will seek to explore these issues within, as well as across specific contexts.

IV. Human and material resources

There are at least two dimensions to the issue of the availability of human and material resources for higher education in developing countries: the overall resource base and its distribution across sectors. With regard to human resources, the two related challenges are a lack of high quality training coupled with the phenomenon of brain drain. Together they create a vicious circle around efforts for human resource development, particularly with regard to faculty enhancement programmes. This cycle is intimately linked to the question of material resources. Overall spending on higher education (as percentage of GNP) varies significantly across developing countries. In general, after declining for some years, it has started to rise since the late 1990s. Some of this increase, however, is due to the increasing role of the private sector in higher education. This trend of privatisation or of private-public partnerships, while increasing the financial resource base, also raises concerns about educational priorities, access, equity and academic freedom. The second dimension has to do with the allocation of resources across different sectors within higher education. The privately funded institutions, for example, have tended to focus on the more lucrative disciplines such as information technology and business management rather than on the humanities and social sciences. What creative approaches are possible to rectify this situation?

V. Higher education, the global context and developing countries

The issues of higher education at a national level are intimately linked with overall global conditions. This is not only because of the migration and movement of students and faculty but also because of the impact of economic globalisation. These factors have created new challenges. The global context accentuates the business model approach to education and makes the human capital of developing countries more vulnerable to the economic appeal of developed countries, intensifying brain drain. The increasing gap between the quality of higher education in different parts of the world means many developing countries will need to work much harder just to maintain their position, let alone to catch up. The same context, however, generates new opportunities as well. Innovations in technologies of distance education, digitisation of academic resources, greater mobility of people and the increased flow of ideas can help developing countries to leap-frog ahead and narrow the gap in higher education between themselves and developed countries. However, the focus on higher education in developing countries has shifted according to its perceived role in their modernisation and development. Recent years have seen a revival of the debate about the role of higher education in a nation's development. This stems partly from the fact that the very idea of development has also undergone a radical transformation over the last thirty years, incorporating not only economic growth (the cornerstone of the earlier definitions of development) but also social and cultural development. Papers here will engage in the exploration of theories and empirical evidence about the relationship between higher education, globalisation and development.

VI. Quality Assurance

Higher education is increasingly being seen as a public good. On the one hand, this idea links higher education to public returns on investment. On the other hand, it gives added significance to the issues of quality to maximize such returns. Quality is not just about implementing and running a system. It is an attitude, a way of working, which not only improves an organization but the way people work and live. It grows from within rather than being imposed from outside. Seen from this point of view, quality assurance becomes the underpinning value that holds together other aspects of higher education. It thus has to span the processes of faculty selection, teaching, research, management structures/practices and inter-institutional linkages. A healthy combination of critical self-assessment and independent external evaluation is often advocated for the monitoring of quality in these areas. The search for quality, however, needs to be grounded in an approach that defines quality in terms broader than those dictated by the growing trends of measurability and immediacy.