Unit
X: Emerging trends in education
Impact
of globalization, liberalization and privatization on education - Life-long
learning and on-line education.
Introduction
The
higher education system in India has undergone massive expansion in the
post-independence period, to fulfill the aim of giving quality education to
masses . There was a national resolve to establish several universities,
technical institutes, research institutions and professional and
non-professional colleges across the country to disseminate knowledge that can
reach the common man
What is LPG?
The
economy of India had undergone significant policy shifts in the beginning of
the 1990s. This
new
model of economic reforms is commonly known as the LPG or Liberalisation,
Privatisation and Globalisation model
Liberalization
Liberalization refers to relaxation of government
restrictions in areas of economic policies. Thus, when government liberalizes
trade.
Though India is
Economically Liberal, the Education System is not Liberal. The higher education
system in India suffers from lack of autonomy and burden of affiliation. It is
characterized by extreme rigidity and lack of flexibility. Our policy in terms
of education is focused more on only expanding the system with no focus on for
quality education.
Impact of Liberalization on Education
Positive Impact
·
The Indian
economy which is majorly fuelled by the service industry will get a boost with
education sector becoming a large chunk of economic source.
·
Hundreds of
thousands of Indian students study abroad at an annual estimated cost of around
US$ 1 billion and it can even stem the migration of thousands of students who
left the country to study abroad. This will save India immense capital.
·
Allowing
corporate would ensure the development of better industry oriented graduates
with specific skill sets.
·
Increased in
educated population implies rapid developments in technology and
communications. It also implies the shift of society from industrialization
based towards information based society.
·
Liberalization
offers students an option of studying close to home with the added benefits of
a degree which will be valid worldwide. It also curbs brain drain which is also
a nation's loss.
Negative Impact
·
Students and
local institutions in developing countries are unregulated.
·
Uninformed or
simply dubious institutions in developing countries may form partnerships with
low-quality colleges and universities in India.
·
There is also
the risk of fake institutes which are looking to stuff their pockets whenever
the opportunity arises.
·
There may be
unforeseen outcomes which come to light only after the outcome occurs.
·
Local institutes
which have limited capital will not be able to survive, rendering many jobless.
·
Even the reputed
institutions will face competition as their national certificates will be less
valued as compared to the world recognised certificates.
Privatization
It refers to the transfer of assets or service
functions from public to private ownership and lesser control of the government. It refers to expansion of
private sector and reduction of public sector.
Privatization on Education
Privatization is management by private sector with
total absence of government intervention. Such institutions generate their own
funds through higher fees, user charges and full use of resources.
Privatization of higher education has emerged in several forms and types in the
recent decade in India.
1.
Self-financing
courses within government institutions
2.
Private self
financing institution
3.
Allowing
expansion of self financing private institution that is commercial private
higher education institutions.
Components of Privatization on Education
The major components of privatization of education include the
following:
·
Establishment,
in the private sector of institutions imparting education and skills viz.,
schools, colleges, polytechnics, research laboratories, professional colleges
in agriculture, engineering, medicine, management etc.
·
Withdrawal of
subsidies by introducing full costing in the individual and the institutional
domain.
·
To grant the
right to the management to start or stop courses in response to market signals
and to persuade the users of the output of educational institutions to
contribute towards the funding of education.
Impact of Privatization on Education System
Education is no longer viewed as a social service, it
is considered a necessary economic input and as such investment in education is
treated as a factor contributory to human resources development. In this effort
towards human resource development, the private sector is also expected to play
its part since it is a major beneficiary of the knowledge industry.
Positive impact
Privatization
will enhance:
·
Decentralization
of education institutions
·
Initiatives in
educational reforms
·
Innovativeness
in teaching and evaluation
·
Tailor made
services and provision of wide choice of courses and subjects to students
·
Competition
·
Quality
education and training
·
Shaping of the
curriculum according to global, national and local needs
·
Availability and
better maintenance of recourses transparency in all procedures
·
Fulfill the need
of the country in liberation, privatization and globalization
·
Utility of human
and physical resources in proper way
Negative impact
·
Will badly
affect the poor
·
Undermine
equity, diversity and openness
·
Does not address
issues of equality, fairness and responsibility
·
Exorbitant fees
will deprive many of availing education
·
Accountability
problem will arise
·
Courses in
humanities and social sciences will be sidelined due to no economic gain
·
Civic and
democratic values may not get passes down
·
Apprehensions
about job security and retrenchment of staff
·
Cost saving will
lead cost cutting
·
Collected funds
may be misused by the owners
·
Favoritism
towards family members and friends
Privatization is essentially deregulation meaning
thereby lesser control of the government. Private institutions generate their
own funds through higher fees, uses charges and full use of resources. Need for
privatization arose due to government’s inability to financially support higher
education and provide efficient and effective education to its young
population. While there are many advantages of privatization, at the same time
there are many obvious fears which put privatization at a disadvantaged position.
Globalization
The term “Globalization” means integration of world
economies through cross country free flow of information, ideas, technologies,
goods, services, finance and people. Globalization is a process, which has
affected many areas of human life, one of those being education. This means
bringing the education system of different economies under common roof which
requires unification of teaching curriculum, methodology and up gradation of
knowledge and systems to attain the goals of life.
The Aim and the Importance of Global Education
The main duty
of a government in the field of education is to design the educational
activities that have been developed according to strategic aims and to make
policies suitable for the aims. Besides education is a major area of government
expenditure and is a significant potential target for human resources. The local
authorities of each country can state the local goal of education. Their aims
can change according to the local needs and necessities and may show
differences from each other. But the global education has many goals in common
for every country. The aims and importance of global education can be sated as
follows:
·
Obtain skills of
new cultures.
·
Develop the
ability of distinguishing intercultural differences.
·
Aiding the
people for criticizing events from global perspective.
·
Explain how
different cultures impact the activities of organizations.
·
Help students
realize how attitudes are shaped and how they influence the behaviours.
·
Develop the
language and harmony skills of the managers who will work in different
cultures.
·
Provide the
ability of working together with the people coming from different cultures.
·
Develop the
skill of multi-sided thinking by causing them gain the cultural sensitivity and
experience.
·
Teach how to
behave according to cultural differences.
·
Teach how to
manage multinational groups.
·
Develop the way
of thinking from individuality to globalize.
Features of
Globalization
·
Encouragement of
markets rather than government central planning
·
Increasing
migration of peoples within and across national boundaries in search of work
·
The growth of
media by satellite that ensures programs to be beamed across the globe
regardless of national boundaries
·
Growth of
national and international Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs)
Impact of Globalization on Education
Through Globalization of education, knowledge is
getting transferred from the Western countries into developing countries, to
improve the skills and capabilities of the people. The direct inter relation
between the industries, corporate world and higher education has brought a
transformation in the skills required for various jobs. The process of
globalization has brought significant transformation in the world trade,
communications, educational activities and economic relations since the latter
part of 20th century.
Education is an
important investment in building human capital that is a driving force for
technological innovation and economic growth. It is only through improving the
educational status of a society that the mufti-faceted development of its
people can be ensured.
In the post-industrialized world, the advanced nations
have derived major proportion of their national income not from agriculture or
industry but from the service sector. Since the service sector is based on
imparting skills or training to the students and youth, the education sector is
the most sought after. It must provide gainful employment so that the sector is
developed in a big way. It has also given rise to controversies relating to introducing
changes in the inter-sectorial priorities in the allocation of resources
leading to the misconceived policy of downsizing of higher education. It has
also advocated privatization of higher education without realizing the danger
of making the system a commercial enterprise.
Positive impact
Globalization is creating opportunities for sharing knowledge,
technology, social values, and behavioral norms and promoting developments at
different levels including individuals, organizations, communities, and
societies across different countries and cultures. In particular, the
advantages of globalization may include the following:
·
Global sharing
of knowledge, skills, and intellectual assets that are necessary to multiple
developments at different levels
·
Mutual support,
supplement and benefit
to produce synergy
for various developments
of countries, communities, and
individuals
·
Creating values
and enhancing efficiency through the above global sharing and mutual support to
serving local needs and growth
·
Promoting
international understanding, collaboration, harmony, and acceptance to cultural
diversity across countries and regions
·
Facilitating communications, interactions, and encouraging
multi-cultural contributions at different levels among countries
Negative impact
Globalization creating serious negative impacts for
developing and underdeveloped countries. The negative impacts include the
following:
·
Increasing the
technological gaps and
digital divides between advanced
countries and less
developed countries
·
Creating more
legitimate opportunities for a few
advanced countries for a new
form of colonization
of developing countries
·
Increasing
inequalities and conflicts between areas and cultures
·
Promoting the
dominant cultures and values of some advanced areas.
Life Long Learning
Lifelong learning (Colloquialism) is the
"ongoing, voluntary, and self-motivated” pursuit of knowledge for either
personal or professional reasons. Therefore, it not only enhances social inclusion,
active citizenship, and personal development, but also self-sustainability, as
well as competitiveness and employability.
Lifelong learning is based on the following four
fundamental principles:
·
Learning to
know, by combining a
sufficiently broad general knowledge with the opportunity to work in depth on a
small number of subjects. This also means learning to learn, so as to benefit
from the opportunities education provides throughout life.
·
Learning to
do, in order to acquire not
only an occupational skill but also, more broadly, the competence to deal with
a large number of situations and work in teams. It also means learning to do in
the context of young people’s various social
and work experiences
which may be informal, as
a result of
the local or
national context, or formal, involving courses alternating study and
work.
·
Learning to
live together, by developing
an understanding of
other people and
an appreciation of interdependence, - carrying out joint
projects and learning to manage conflicts – in a spirit of respect for the
values of pluralism, mutual understanding and peace.
·
Learning to be, so as
to develop better
one’s personality and
be able to
act with increasingly
greater autonomy, judgment, and personal responsibility. To that end,
education must not disregard any aspect of a person’s potential: memory,
reasoning, aesthetic sense, physical capacities, and communication skills.
Need and Importance of Lifelong Learning
Homeschooling involves learning to learn or the
development of informal learning patterns
·
Waldorf
education which teaches children to love learning for its own sake
·
Adult education
or the acquisition of formal qualifications or work and leisure skills later in
life
·
Continuing
education which often describes extension or not-for-credit courses offered by
higher education institutions
·
Knowledge work
which includes professional development and on-the-job training
·
Personal
learning environments or self-directed learning using a range of sources and tools
including online application.
Online Education
Online
education refers to an education system which involves electronic media and
Information and communication Technologies. In simple, it is the technique of learning,
getting training and conducting research through Electronic Medias.
Online
education is defined as the creation and proliferation of the personal
computer, the globalization of ideas and other human acts, and the use of
technology in exchanging ideas and providing access to more people. Audio,
video, computer and networking technologies are often combined to create a
multifaceted instructional delivery system. The fundamental method to unite the
distance learning instructor with the distance learner is the network.
There are
many terms for on-line education. Some of them are virtual education,
internet-based education, web-based education, education via computer-mediated
communication. The web-edu project uses a definition of online education that
is based on Desmond Keegan’s (1988)
definition. It is by:
·
The separation
of teachers and learners which distinguishes it from face-to-face education
·
The influence of
an educational organization which distinguishes it from self-study and private
tutoring
·
The use of a
computer network to present or distribute some educational content
·
The provision of
two-way communication via a computer network so that students may benefit from
communication with each other, teachers and staff.
