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Higher Education in SAARC Region: Some Innovative Practices. Dr. C. P. S. Chauhan Professor of Education & Former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh – 202002, India. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
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Higher Education in SAARC Region: Some Innovative Practices Dr. C. P. S. Chauhan Professor of Education & Former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh – 202002, India
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) • Asia the largest landmass with 30% land and 60% population; South Asia is sub-Himalayan region including Sri Lanka, Maldives & Afghanistan; • 1660 million people (24% of the world & 36% of Asia); share geographic boundaries, climatic conditions, high population, poverty, illiteracy; • Literacy rate 62%: 73 for men & 51 for women; 6 out of 10 least literate countries are in South Asia; has over 50% of world’s illiterates; wide (30-97) inter-state variation; for India it is 74 with 65 for females; • Underdeveloped-HDI ranks low (92 – 175), mostly between 140 & 160; for India HDI is 136; • SAARC formed on Dec 8, 1985 with seven members; Afghanistan joined in April 2007;
Education System in SAARC Region • All have similar systems with minor variation; 11-12 years of schooling, 3-4 years of 1st degree, 2-3 years of master’s degree & 3-5 years of doctorate; • Entry to higher education is after completing 11-12 years of schooling; Sri Lanka (11 years+2 years); only brightest can enter public universities; • Large number of affiliated colleges; Bangladesh & Nepal affiliate all colleges to a single university; it is an innovative model; we may adopt it state-wise; • President in the Chancellor of public universities & all are centrally funded; there are universities for general and specialized education; • In Bangladesh & Sri Lanka, education is free in public universities; Bangladesh students pay USD 2.5 a year;
Quantity and Quality • Fast development requires: literacy rate at 75 & GER in higher education at 25; 1st condition is met by 3 members, but none meets the 2nd; • GERs for women and weaker sections are lower, more expansion along with requisite quality is desirable; ODL may be helpful as in China; • India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka & Pakistan have taken some advantage; others must follow; some quality control mechanism needs to be installed; • Increased access and improved quality (which is poor) is needed to stop outflow of students & wealth; over 4.5 million study outside their home countries worldwide; • China, India & Korea are the largest senders; India sends more than 300,000 students of which more than 100,000 to US alone; • World ranking of Universities in SAARC is poor;
Financial & Material Resources • Most SAARC members have highly subsidized education at all levels (90-95%); but most of the funds go to salaries; overall 4.1% of GDP is spent; • In Bangladesh in Sri Lanka, there is free higher education in public universities; other countries also charge low fees; about 6-7% GDP is needed; • BNU, affiliating 16oo colleges, is self-supporting; this is an innovative idea; members countries must augment & pool human/material resources; • Areas of collaboration may be: development of curriculum & instructional material, exchange of faculty & students, sharing ICT, joint research projects, regional conference, etc. • Utilization of resources economically & ensuring transparency;
Privatization • Private higher education grew out of inability of governments to fund the growing system; it is a worldwide phenomenon; SAARC no exception; • Two decades since 1990 witnessed faster growth of private universities in the SAARC region; in Afghanistan, Bangladesh & Pakistan over 75 % universities are private; India also has 100; • Private providers focus on professional & job- oriented courses; charge high fees; most of them compromise on quality; beyond the reach of poor; • Profiteering needs to be accepted, but regulated; exorbitant profit with poor quality be controlled; Bangladesh model of 5% free-ships is acceptable; • Privatization has promoted internationalization; Bhutan invites FDI to create ‘education city’ and to setup affiliated institutions;
Areas of Cooperation • Institution of SAARC Chairs in universities for study of regional issues; • Promotion of student and faculty exchange with scholarships and fellowships; Bhutan Model; • Promotion of high quality basic research with pooled academic and material resources; • Creation of the SAARC Consortium of Open and Distance Learning (SACODL); • Establishment of a SAARC teachers’ forum, • Establishment of a South Asian University (SAU) at New Delhi. • Beware of possible development of market-oriented value system;
