GLOBALISED HIGHER EDUCATION: COSTS AND BENEFITS FOR INDIA

Section:  A

Category: Research Paper

Paper Code: RP-SH-20

Page Number: 490- 498

Date of Publication: February 10, 2021

Citation: Dr. Rangaswamy D & Ms. Savitha H.M, GLOBALISED HIGHER EDUCATION: COSTS AND BENEFITS FOR INDIA, 1 AIJACLA, 1, 490- 498, (2021), https://www.aequivic.in/post/aijacla-affirmative-principle-making-breaking-and-shaking-mbs-approach-of-judiciary.

Details Of Author(s): Dr. Rangaswamy D, Assistant Professor of Law, Karnataka State Law University, Hubballi, Karnataka &

Ms. Savitha H.M, 1^st Year LL.M, DOS in Law, University of Mysore, Mysore

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ABSTRACT

The role of education in modern complex society is vital. It is a significant instrument to complete the socialization process, for the formation of social personalities, much importantly, for occupational placement of the individuals. Education, including higher education, shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religion group.[1] Fortunately, some of the global factors are considerable contributing to the above-mentioned motto of the education. Paradoxically, certain factors have negatively affected the education system to reach the goal of the education as aforementioned. Globalization is such a process which generated both fertile land for education system and regretting environment in the higher education system. The present paper is an attempt to trace out the challenges of globalization on Indian higher education, its opportunities for India. The paper also explores on the policy concern of the government to balance these two issues in order to mold the higher education system of the country in the back ground of rapid impact of globalization on higher education system in the country.

Key Words: Globalization, Higher Education, Challenges, Opportunities

INTRODUCTION

National prosperity is created, not inherited.[2] Education is bedrock of this prosperity. There is a close link between economic development and Higher Education.[3] It accelerates sustainable development.[4] In this background, it is rightly pointed that “A sound higher education plays an important role in economic growth and development of a nation. Higher education, in terms of relevance and importance, enjoys a significant position in the education system as it equips the people with appropriate knowledge and skills to be gainfully employed.”[5]  In similar way, the Global Economic Forum report asserts that “The quality higher education and training is crucial for economies that want to move up the value chain beyond simple production process and products. In particular, today’s globalizing economy requires countries to nurture pools of well-educated workers who are able to perform complex task and adapt rapidly to their changing environment and the evolving needs of the production system. This pillar measures secondary and tertiary enrollment rates as well as the quality of education as evaluated by business leaders. The extent of staff training is also taken into consideration because of the importance of vocational and continuous on the job training which is neglected in many economies for ensuring a constant upgrading of workers skill.”[6]

On the other hand, the process of globalization has assumed significant place under the policy agenda of the nations in recent days.[7]  The trans-boundary flow of information, ideas, technologies, goods and services, capital, finance and people have considerably expanded the capacity of the states in their governmental business. The benefit of the globalization for economy in terms of greater access to potential global market,[8] financial resources,[9] quality goods and services,[10] skilled human resources,[11] advanced technologies[12] etc., have increased the capability of the state to strengthen their economic status at national as well as global level. In similar way the role of higher educational institutions in achieving the above-mentioned objectives of the higher education is pivotal.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The paper has the following objectives: (a) To trace out the challenges attached to globalization of higher education in India; (b) To identify the benefits of globalization available for Indian higher education system; (c) To look into steps taken by the Government to cope up with new system of globalized legal system.

METHODOLOGY

This review paper adopts a qualitative, narrative review methodology to examine and synthesize existing literature on the selected topic. The review is based on secondary data obtained from peer-reviewed journal articles, books, and credible academic sources. The primary aim of this methodology is to identify key themes, trends, debates, and gaps in the literature related to the topic.

A systematic approach was employed for literature selection. Academic databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, JSTOR, ERIC, and Google Scholar were used to identify relevant literature. Keywords including globalization, higher education, education policy, internationalization were used in various combinations to conduct the search. Inclusion criteria consisted of: (i) articles written in English, (ii) studies focusing on the impact of globalization on national education systems, and (iii) publications in peer-reviewed journals or recognized academic sources. Exclusion criteria included articles lacking theoretical relevance or empirical basis, as well as non-academic reports and opinion pieces.

GLOBALIZATION AS ACCELERATOR FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

The process of globalization is undeniably having a major impact on higher education worldwide. However, the influence is not one-sided. Higher education itself is also becoming globalized, and this reverse dynamic carries important consequences. These effects are felt both at the individual level and across entire nations.[13] This part of paper deals with boosting facet of globalization for Higher Education.

Global Competitiveness: The education should be a competitive one to contest with global competitiveness.[14] The competition will essentially be for offering quality education recognized at the international level and relevant to the local needs.  Globalization and competitiveness are intricately linked, with globalization acting as a catalyst for enhancing national and institutional competitiveness in a rapidly integrating world economy. As countries and organizations become more interconnected through trade, investment, and technological exchange, the pressure to improve productivity, innovation, and efficiency intensifies. Globalization exposes domestic industries to international standards and competition, compelling them to upgrade capabilities and adopt global best practices. At the same time, it facilitates the flow of knowledge, talent, and capital across borders, creating opportunities for countries to strengthen their competitive advantages. In the context of higher education and knowledge economies, globalization encourages academic institutions to enhance quality,^[15] foster international collaborations,^[16] and produce globally competitive graduates.^[17]  Thus, globalization not only demands competitiveness but also provides the tools and networks to achieve it.

The major issue is being how to raise the quality and standards of Indian education system to make it globally completive, locally relevant and enable to offer marketing paradigm appropriate for developing societies.[18]  The ability of Indian higher education system as to its global competitiveness is still immature. The Indian Higher education system in this regard is rightly pointed out in various reports. In this juncture, the globalization process can certainly enhance the capacity of higher education system of the nation by providing adequate and qualitative human resources, technological development, well equipped infrastructure and financial resources essential for educational system to meet global competitiveness.

Restructuring the Education System: The Indian higher education system is to be re-formed in terms of its employability and relevancy. The present education system is utterly failed to cope up with the need of the hour. The present education system is creating frustration amongst graduates when they find that education is not so useful in employment and in work situations. A challenge is to transform the system from its present model of education to developmental education linking education to developments in society and industry and service sectors.[19]  Globalization has significantly influenced the restructuring of the education system by introducing new priorities, frameworks, and practices aligned with global economic, technological, and cultural trends. It has led to the internationalization of curricula, greater focus on skills relevant to the global job market—such as communication, digital literacy, and critical thinking—and the adoption of global standards for quality assurance and accreditation. Educational institutions are increasingly engaging in cross-border collaborations, student and faculty mobility, and the use of digital platforms for transnational education delivery. These changes aim to make education more competitive and globally relevant.[20] 

Strengthening Public Management institutions: Globalization has played a vital role in strengthening public management institutions by encouraging the adoption of international best practices, enhancing administrative efficiency, and promoting transparency and accountability. As nations become more interconnected, public institutions are increasingly exposed to global standards in governance, performance measurement, and service delivery. This exposure has led to the diffusion of managerial innovations such as e-governance, public-private partnerships, results-based management, and citizen-centric service models. Furthermore, international organizations such as the World Bank, OECD, and UNDP have been instrumental in promoting capacity building, policy reforms, and institutional development in public management through technical assistance, funding, and knowledge exchange programs. Globalization has also fostered comparative benchmarking, allowing governments to assess their institutional performance against international peers and strive for continuous improvement. However, while globalization offers opportunities to modernize public management, it also poses challenges, such as balancing global models with local contexts and protecting public values from market-driven approaches. Thus, globalization acts as both a driver and a test of resilience for public management institutions.

 The globalization process can certainly provide fuel to the public management educational institution of the country.  To compete with foreign well equipped educational institution, the government should inevitably go for considerable reform of the domestic educational institution. Under this context, Simon Marginson and Marijk van der Wende are of the view that the transmission of reform templates is global in scale, and has rendered the different national systems more similar to each other in form and organizational language.[21]

COSTS OF GLOBALISATION ON HIGHER EDUCATION:

Commercialization of Education: The education should be intent to enlighten the knowledge of the individual rather than selling it on business. Though, such kind of free higher education is not possible, the fee intent to collect should be reasonable and justifiable. But the concept of globalization can distort this basic element of education and it would lead the higher education system towards commercialization. As M. Schooyans viewed “One of the most disquieting aspects of economic globalization is the galloping commercialization of teaching and education. Increasingly they become the object of mercantilism. Knowledge is commercialized just as is any other product. Even if they have the opportunity of access to instruction, the poor have access only to quality of teaching that is mediocre. Discrimination and exclusion begin at eh earliest level of schooling. They have the consequences of forbidding to children of poor families access to state-of-the-art knowledge and corresponding responsibilities.”[22]

In ability of Local Education system to cope up with Globalization: The new and innovative challenges might to be raised from the globalization. The country’s ability to tackle this situation should be matured and capable. The inter relationship between the ability of the educational system of the country and globalization has rightly been pointed out in the following terms “education and skill policies take centre stage in increasing the social sustainability of globalization. They determine whether people acquire the capabilities required to share in the gains form globalization. Currently, many-low educated people in rich countries end to be excluded from this. Despite the large possible gains from the reuse of ideas that globalization opens up, many poor countries are excluded because they lack the skills required to adopt new technologies from abroad and to deal with the rapidly changing conditions that globalization brings about.”[23]  The Indian educational system has not yet attained such a stage to digest the situation which the globalization could bring up.

Handicap for inclusiveness of Higher Education: The Government is duty bound to provide access ability and quality higher education to the social excluded community of the country as the protective discrimination has concretely been assured under the Indian Constitution.[24] It is in this background asserted that the overreaching goal of a progressive higher education system is to ensure that the education is available uniformly to all concerned without any bias. [25]The process of globalization might impair or restrict the State ability to move in this direction.

As we have discussed hereinbefore, globalisation has both costs and benefits for the country. Though, it has its own threats on local educational system, from global competitive perspective it is inevitable for the nation to go for globalised education system so that the country can equip its system in effective manner. As Simon Marginson pointed out in Teichler remarks, it is surprising to note how much the debate on global phenomena in higher education suddenly focuses on marketisation, competition and management in higher education. Other terms, such as knowledge society, global village, global understanding or global learning, are hardly taken into consideration”. [26]

CONCLUSION, FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS:

Higher education is growing and expanding immensely in India. Since independence, India is struggling to evolve Indian national system of education, which is capable of addressing the issues of quality, quantity and accessibility and success on the basis of Indian culture, heritage and values system. The careful and cautious step of the Government in the backdrop of the abundant benefit of the globalization, India can certainly strengthen its higher education system by scaling up of the ability of the nation to address age old problems such as underdevelopment and disadvantages.[27]

The paper reviewed various competing arguments regarding the potential impacts of globalization on the country's higher education system. It examined the debate from the standpoint of the benefits globalization can bring to higher education, while also addressing concerns about its possible costs. Overall, it is clear that these debates will remain active and contentious in the years to come, especially as the effects of globalization continue to unfold across the nation. Moreover, it is essential for academicians and researchers to recognize and critically engage with the complex interplay of local, national, and global forces that are shaping the future of the country’s higher education landscape.

The relationship between globalization, the expansion of educational opportunities, and its contribution to economic growth remains widely debated and far from resolved. Nevertheless, as cross-border activities, strategies, and technologies gain increasing importance for all nations, it becomes crucial for governments and political systems to operate effectively within a globalized context. Globalized education can play a key role in enhancing this capacity. However, government policies must remain vigilant to ensure that the benefits of educational advancement and the costs associated with globalization are not distributed unevenly across countries or among different segments of society.

[1]  Article 5 (1) (a) of Convention against Discrimination in Education, 1960. See 429 UNTS 93.

[2] Michael E. Porter.  “The Competitive Advantage of Nations.” Harward Business Review (March-April 1990): 73-91, p.73.

[3] See generally, Glenda Kruss at el.  “Higher education and Economic Development: The importance of Building Technological Capabilities.” International Journal of Educational Development (Vol.43, 2015): 22-31; Chankseliani, M., Qoraboyev, I. & Gimranova, D. “Higher Education Contributing to Local, National, and Global Development: New Empirical and Conceptual Insights.” High Education (Vol.81, 2021): 109–127.

[4] Chankseliani, M., & McCowan, T. “Higher education and the Sustainable Development Goals.” High Educ (Vol.81, 2021): 1–8.

[5] Ministry of Human Resource Development. Annual Status of Higher Education of States and UTs in India. New Delhi: Confideration of Indian Industry, November 2013, p.8.

[6]. Schwab, K. The Global Cometitiveness Report. Washington D C: World Economic Forum, 2013, p.6.

[7] Hirst, P., & Thompson, G.. “Globalization and the Future of the Nation State.” Economy and Society, (Vol.24, No.3, 1995) 408–442, p.408.

[8] Diallo, M. F., Djelassi, S., & Kumar, V. “Marketing and globalization: Relevance, trends and future research.”  Recherche et Applications En Marketing (English Edition) (Vol.36, No.3,2021) 2-7.

[9] Machiko Nissanke and Howard Stein.  “Financial Globalization and Economic Development: Toward an Institutional Foundation.”  Eastern Economic Journal (Vol.29, No.2, Spring, 2003) 287-308.  

[10] See generally, Timon Bohn, Steven Brakman and Erik Dietzenbacher, “The Role of Services in Globalisation.” The World Economy (Vol.41, No.10, October 2018): 2732-2749; Levitt, Theodore. "The Globalization of Markets."  Harvard Business Review (Vol.61, May-June,1983): 92-102:  Specifically for the benefit of quality of education see, Deepak Nayyar. "Globalization: What does it Mean for Higher Education?" in Luc E. Weber and James Duderstadt (eds). The Globalization of Higher Education. London: Economia, 2008. 3-14, pp.12-13.

[11] Shan, H., & Fejes, A. (2015).” Skill Regime in the Context of Globalization and Migration.” Studies in Continuing Education (Vol.37, No.3, 2015): 227–235.

[12] Hrynyshyn, D. Technology and globalization. Studies in Political Economy, (Vol.67. No.1, 2002): 83-106.

[13] Deepak Nayyar, supra note 10 at p.10.

[14] Ngai-Ling Sum, and Bob Jessop. "Competitiveness, the Knowledge-based Economy and Higher Education." Journal of the Knowledge Economy (Vol.4, No.1, 2013): 24-44.

[15] Altbach, Philip & Knight, Jane. “The Internationalization of Higher Education: Motivations and Realities.” Journal of Studies in International Education (Vol.11, 2007): 290-305, p.300.

[16] Ibid, p.303

[17] Ibid 

[18] Takwale, R. Challenges and oppurtunities of Globalisation for Higher Education in Alternatives through E-education-Golden Jubliee Lecture Series. New Delhi: University Grant Commission,2002, p.3.

[19]  Ibid, at p.4.

[20] Supra note 18

[21]Simon Marginson and Marijk van der Wende. Globalisation and Higher Education. Paris: OECD,September,2006, p.7.

[22] Michel Schooyans. The United Nation and Globalisation (September 2010) p.6, available at www.http/www (retrieved on April 11, 2014).

[23]  Woessmann, L. “Education Policies to Make Globalisation more Inclusive.”  in Marc Bacchetta and B. Jansen ( eds), Making Globalisation Socially Sustainable. Geneva: International Labour Organisation,2011, 320-340, p.320.

[24]  According to MHRD report the enrollment of weaker section of the society in higher education is significantly low. As on 2009-2010, the representation of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in enrollments in the Indian higher education is 12.2% and 9.7% respectively and it is far below than the national average. Similarly, there exists a wide variation in the females’ share of higher education enrollment. The share of females enrolled in higher education is only 12.7% while it is 17.1% for males. See, supra note 1 at p.12

[25]  Ibid.

[26] Teichler, U. The Changing Debate on Internationalization of Higher Education, Higher Education (Vol.48, 2004) pp. 5-26. Cited in; Simon Marginson and Marijk van der Wende, See, supra note 21 at p.6.

[27]  Supra note 2 at p. 6.