Date: 7/13/2009
TUMSPR News: The UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education came to a close in Paris, on July 8, 2009 with a call to increase investment in higher education, encourage diversity and strengthen regional cooperation to serve societal needs.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Conference on Higher Education came to a close in Paris, after four days on July 8, 2009. The wide array of participation by ministers, university chancellors, faculty members, students and key representatives of the private as well as regional and multilateral institutions, summing up to over 1000 participants from 150 countries, clearly showed the importance and the strong need to discuss issues such as the impact of globalization on higher education, social responsibility, academic freedom, research and financing.
The final communiqué, adopted at the end of the conference emphasized that "At no time in history has it been more important to invest in higher education as a major force in building an inclusive and diverse knowledge society and to advance research, innovation and creativity".
The report stresses that "higher education must pursue the goals of equity, relevance and quality simultaneously", underlining the importance of regulatory and quality assurance mechanisms and the need to enhance "the attractiveness of the academic career."
The communiqué emphasizes the need for strengthened regional cooperation in areas ranging from the recognition of qualifications, quality assurance, governance, research and innovation. It also highlights the importance of establishing regional higher education and research areas.
Hinting at the global teacher shortage, the report also calls for higher education “to scale up pre-service and in-service teacher training with curricula that equip teachers to provide individuals with the knowledge and skills they need in the 21st century”[1].
At the same time UNESCO warns that “academics lack qualifications because of spiraling global demand”, as Phil Baty from Times Higher Education reports and quotes that “up to half of the world’s university teachers may lack postgraduate degrees because of the pressures of “massification”[2].
References:
1- World Conference on Higher Education
http://www.unesco.org/en/education/single-view/news/world_conference_on_higher_education_closes_with_an_appeal_for_investment_and_cooperation/back/9712/
2- Massification takes toll on professoriate standards
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=407334&c=2
http://publicrelations.tums.ac.ir/english/news/detail.asp?newsID=12706
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