Transcript Document
Higher Education Conference
The impact of mergers on the South African Higher Education System
Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria 7 –9 October 2009
Governance, higher education policy development and implementation at educational and systemic level
Hester du Plessis
Director, Sustainable energy Technology Testing and Research (SeTAR) Centre Head, Secretariat, EnerKey- energy for sustainability Faculty of Science Senior researcher, FADA, University of Johannesburg [email protected]
Introduction
Issue
: Merger addresses shortcomings of the past realities and opportunities …” – a political process “… to redress the past inequalities and transform the HE system to serve a new social order, meet pressing national needs and respond to new
Points to discuss
: • South African Education system is inward looking • Lack of collaboration and integration with society and government bodies • Overlook global incentives of HE transformation
Case to discuss
: • Lessons from the India HE transformation process 2
Characteristics of South African society
• Social and cultural identities are diverse, dynamic, pragmatic and flexible with ancient and rich traditions able to exist side by side with modernity.
• Social and cultural diversity does not accommodate integration easily.
• Transformation of the pre-modern knowledge communities (IKS) into modern knowledge collectives.
• Social concern to preserve ancient skills and craft traditions. • Free conversation between cultures as well as a recovery of the cultures of politically marginalised groups in an effort to harmonize different ideologies of nationalism, secularism, rationality and cultural universalisms.
India is similar and serves as example 3
India developed a ‘scientific temper’ after Independence (1947)
• Five year cyclic governance system put into operation.
• Introduced concepts such as the promotion of a ‘scientific temper’ amongst Indian population as a philosophical driver for development.
‘Scientific temper’ guided by a few crucial points
: • People should develop along lines of their own genius and imposing anything on them should be avoided.
• Tribal rights in land and forest should be protected.
• We should try to train and build up a team of our own people to do the work of administration and development.
• We should not over-administer these areas or overwhelm them with a multiplicity of schemes.
• We should judge results not by statistics or the amount of money spent but by the quality of human life that is involved (Pachauri, 1983:3) .
4
‘Scientific temper’: inbuilt mechanisms of survey, analysis and reflection
• Dual purpose – one of limited and contained cyclic growth periods and one of an opportunity to rectify identified problem areas. • Overall aim to promote a mind-set amongst the population to develop a scientific understanding of natural and social phenomena. • The process facilitated and accommodated consistency between theory and practice by promoting quantitative research to be distinguished from vague qualitative thinking.
• The population was highly illiterate and unable to access formal education – the transformation process assisted the validation of the ‘scientific temper’ to promote a certain mindset amongst the population. • Transformation implies more than a methodical approach to knowledge systems (usually in the academic domain) by providing a national drive for understanding (of science and processes) by society and the practitioners of traditional knowledge systems. 5
India Higher Education 2008
Current in India
:
416
universities
251
state universities,
24
central universities,
103
deemed universities,
5
institutions under state legislation and
33
institutes of national importance. 6
Current 11th five year plan cycle in India
Aims
: • To develop the education sector in tandem with the exponential growth of the Indian economy and its drive towards greater global competitiveness.
• Consider the problems faced by higher education in India as one of lack of
access, equity
and
quality
.
• The foremost priority in Indian education is the enhancement of access to higher education for the ‘Scheduled Castes’, ‘Scheduled Tribes’ and ‘Backward Castes’.
• The assurance of growth in quality remains as the most difficult task. • To sustain international competitiveness – a concern as India generally lacks high-quality research. 7
Development of a pragmatic new paradigm for the India education sector
• Address not only the issue of unemployment, but the issue of
unemployability
. • The India Labour Report (2007) – 53% of employed youth suffer from some degree of skill deprivation while only 8% are unemployable. • 90% of employment opportunities require vocational skills, while a 40% illiteracy rate is found amongst the working 15 –60 year group • The optimum efficiency can be reached by the Indian educational system if it is based on a ‘… strong and vibrant school education system, supported by a refined higher educational system …” (Kalam in Pande, 2008:23) .
8
India priorities: greater access to HE through the expansion of institutional infrastructures
8 7 16 14 370 700
new India Institutes of Technology (IIT) – as far as possible in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode; new India Institutes of Management (IIM); new central universities and central universities supported to attain world class standards; new colleges and partnered polytechnics. 9
Education specialization
• Indira Gandhi National Tribal University being initiated in Amarkantak, Madhya Pradesh to promote studies and research in tribal art, culture, tradition, language, custom, medicinal systems, forest-based economic activities and the advancement in technologies related to natural resources of the tribal areas. • The
National Education mission through Information and Communication Technology
support a scheme called “National mission in education through ICT” (information communication technology). • Three new Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER).
• Two Schools of Planning and Architecture (SPA).
• Special focus on Minority Education (through the setting up of a National Commission for Minority Education), and on developing the education provision in the North Eastern region.
10
Support for growth incentives
• Promotion of research of high quality. • Regular updating of the curricula (every 3 years). • Emphasis on regular progress evaluation, better national coverage of the accreditation process and reforms at institutions such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) in collaboration with: – National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC); – All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE); – Distance Education Council (DEC); – Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); – Bar Council of India (BCI); – National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).
11
Market driven governmental policy framework boosting the higher education system
• Access to quality education – learn from best practises from abroad in management of higher education and make India an attractive destination for foreign students.
• Develop national and international accreditation bodies.
• Improve student-lecturer ratio: current 26 to 1 where the global norm is 15 to 1.
• Upgrade lecturer qualifications – 57% are without Masters or PhD qualifications despite salary increases of 45% in 2009.
• Upgrade participation in R&D research on doctoral and postdoctoral level.
• Create Research Chairs • Inclusion and extra provision for education aimed specifically at women.
12
Market driven governmental policy framework needs
• 40 million craftspeople in India with unmet educational / social needs (master-craftsmen).
• 55% of its population under the age of 25.
• India yearly graduates 400 000 engineers and only 1000 designers – merge postgraduate courses.
• NASSCOM-McKenzie report predicts a need of over 9 million suitable graduates for the IT and Business process outsourcing sectors alone by 2010.
13
In conclusion: SA HE merger aims
• Reduce duplication and overlap in programme and service provision.
• Promote joint development and delivery programmes.
• Enhance responsiveness to regional and national needs for academic programmes, research and community service.
• Help build academic and administrative capacity.
• Refocus and reshape institutional culture and missions of HE institutions.
14
In conclusion: SA HE merger failures
• Failed to diversify enrolments in different fields of study – not responding to society needs?
• Failed to respond to global shifts towards multi-disciplinary programmes – too inward focussed?
• Failed to centralise the needs of students in development of curricula – Eurocentric dominance and lack of African studies.
• Unstable transformation – access and opportunity still too racial and gender sensitive.
• Loss of technical skills in favour of academic pursuits and pretences.
15
In conclusion: Lessons from India
• Structural and organizational expansion.
• Differentiation and shift to multi-disciplinary options (energy research as example).
• Development of an ecosystem of support and diversification.
• Partnership with government – involvement with a service network.
• Input in existing governmental policies.
• Development of international partnerships through research ‘Centre-to-Centre’ topical projects.
• Create stronger partnerships with industry.
• Develop a network for intellectual debate and knowledge sharing (knowledge cities).
16