Impacts of Globalization on Higher Education
The higher education structure in India has served as both agent and object of the globalization and impacts of Globalization on it are immense and diverse, encompassing positive and negative changes. Globalization has not only underlined the need for higher education reforms but also wider utilization of IT, emphasis on R&D, and investment in development of human capital.
Commoditisation / Privatization of Education
As a result of globalization, higher education is becoming a marketable commodity and has emerged as a multi-billion dollar business. The increasing need to set up a chain of educational institutions which are accredited, globally acceptable, has led to gradual privatization of higher education. This shift of education from social good to marketable commodity would also make the poor and disadvantaged people to suffer.
Entry of Foreign Universities
One of the important tools of Globalization is FDI. The need for substantial investment in higher education; global competitiveness; perception about India as a great market for higher education; increasing demand etc. have led the foreign universities to try to open campuses here. The entry of foreign universities is expected to bring quality infrastructure in teaching as well as research and check brain-drain to a great extent.
However, so far the government policy towards entry of foreign universities is “protectionism”. Currently, it is not possible for foreign universities to set up campuses in India. Recently, NITI Aayog has recommended allowing the foreign universities to set up campuses in Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
Teacher education
The global competitiveness, rapid changes, lifelong learning and flexible routes of learning have their implications over teacher’s training also. Globalization has underlined the need to take steps to qualitative expansion, value based, competency based and ICT based teaching learning.
Education policies
Globalization has also affected the education policies on higher education in India. In the last two decades Indian government has formed various committees, commission and also different kinds of economic bodies came to existence like NAAC.
E-learning
People with disability get benefit from globalization only if they endowed with knowledge, skills, capabilities and rights needed to pursue their basic livelihoods. The introduction of technology into the classroom is changing the nature of delivering education to students is gradually giving way to a new form of electronic literacy , more programs and education materials are made available in electronic form, teachers are preparing materials in electronic form; and students are generating papers, assignments and projects in electronic form. Video projection screens, books with storage device servers and CD rooms as well as the emergence of on-line digital libraries are now replacing blackboards. Even exams and grades are gradually becoming available through electronic means and notebooks are starting to give way to laptops. Also, students can be examined through computer managed learning systems and do tutorial exercises on a computer rather than in a classroom.
