Introduction
9
Expansion of the system is due to several factors. First, there is the pressure resulting from expansion
at the lower levels of education. While part of this expansion is in response
to the voluntary demand
for education, another part of it is in response to public action. The promulgation of laws governing
compulsory primary education has increased national commitment and international support to
achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals. These initiatives have generated demand for primary
education, even from the most disadvantaged groups and from those living in remote areas. As a
result of the expansion of the lower levels of the education system, demand for education at the
secondary and post-secondary levels has in turn increased. The move,
in many countries, towards
the universalization of secondary education has increased the number of candidates eligible to
enrol in higher education, thus putting additional social pressure to expand the higher education
sector.
Second, the rapid expansion of higher education in the recent past is also a re
fl
ection of increasing
employment opportunities for university graduates. The public sector used to be the largest
employer of university graduates in developing countries. Employment
in the public sector has
declined and many countries, in
the context of globalization, have promoted the private sector of
their economies. The slowdown in employment generation in the public sector has, very often, been
offset by employment creation in the private sector. Furthermore, recognizing the changing skill
requirements in the context of globalization, many countries not only universalized school education
but also ‘massi
fi
ed’ their higher education systems. Now it is globally recognized that an expanded
higher education sector has become a necessary condition for a country’s growth in the present
environment; it is important in promoting faster technological catch-up and in improving a country’s
ability to maximize economic output (World Bank, 2002). As noted earlier, the OECD countries are
moving towards the universalization of tertiary education (OECD, 1998) while countries in Africa
are taking steps to expand higher education to ‘accelerate catch-up’ (World Bank, 2009).
Third, recent trends in expansion also indicate the fast growth of private and cross-border education.
The number of students pursuing studies in domestic and private institutions has increased and,
in
cross-border institutions, it has almost doubled to 2.7 million in the last decade. Although better
job opportunities and higher salary expectations can be important reasons, the growth also re
fl
ects
changes in the provision of higher education facilities.
This paper addresses issues related to the globalization of higher education, focussing on cross-
border education – the cross-border mobility of students, of teachers and of institutions. The
expansion of cross-border education re
fl
ects the increasing demand
for domestic degrees in the
employment market in the developed world, and for foreign degrees for migrant workers in the
employment market in the developing world. The cross-border education market seems to have the
propensity to attract good brains from the developing world to meet the requirements of the global
labour market, both domestic and foreign. Private individuals are willing to pay a higher price for
cross-border education since the returns from their investment are high. Private agencies are also
willing to invest in cross-border education since such an investment is pro
fi
table.
This paper argues
that higher education in the context of globalization has become a market-determined process,
replacing the near monopoly position previously enjoyed by the state. Therefore, there is a need
to review and revise public policies for promoting higher education. The state needs to rede
fi
ne
its role in facilitating expansion with equity and in ensuring quality. The current
fi
nancial crisis has
underlined the need for public intervention to regulate market processes. National strategies for
the development of higher education need to focus on developing regulatory
measures to promote
equity and quality as the system expands. These regulations are equally or even more needed in
the cross-border segment of higher education.
International Institute for Educational Planning www.iiep.unesco.org
