Higher Education (Globalization) Singh, M.K.

Higher Education (Globalization)

Singh, M.K. (n.d.). Challenges of Globalization on Indian Higher Education. Retrieved October 27, 2009, from http://aserf.org.in/presentations/globalization.PDF/

This work maintains that knowledge holds a central role in a globalized world structure. It also acknowledges that the effect of globalization remains to be debatable at this point with some group arguing that global policies are in line with the interests of the global capitalists while others maintain that it addressed the needs of particular societies in general, and disadvantaged groups in particular. The article also presented views on globalization by leading sociologists and economists. In the work's focus, the Indian context, it has been noted that the Indian educational system has expanded; however it was offset by the growth spur of the relevant age group. Resources are strained and the quality of education has been questionable. Singh concludes by arguing that a reform in the educational system, on a system-wide level through liberalization of higher education may be advantageous for India. Moreover, privatization of education is recommended, still line with the author's espoused liberalization strategy.

Much like the argument of Carnoy (2005), Singh asserts the huge importance of education in a globalized structure. This article also resonates the disagreements of Carnoy (2005) and Kwiek (2001) -- i.e. The positive and negative effects of globalization in higher education with the author taking the side of Carnoy in the belief that higher education positively implicates a nation's economy. Unlike McPherson & Schapiro (2002), who argued against privatization of educational institutions, Singh believes that higher education should be privatized as part of the liberalization policy that he posits to work advantageously for India. Method-wise, this work is a good example of how fruitful research on higher education and globalization would be if we put it in a particular context, like in this case, the Indian societies. This prods us to look at societal specificities to better understand the interplay of social factors in furthering our understanding of higher education in the light of globalization.