Assessing education globally
There seems to be no level playing field in global education, as disparities in language as a medium of instruction are varied, notes NOEL G DE SOUZA.
Nature does not provide level playing fields. The world, including humans, is riddled with inequalities. Some individuals excel at sport whilst others may be intellectuals; some might be good in the liberal arts whilst others may be gifted with scientific skills. There is fierce competition as individuals and nations compete for excellence.
The question of judging individual talents is a serious matter. There is intense competition to get into high quality schools such as the selective schools in NSW. This competition is carried over into acquiring places in high-demand courses in universities. Competition is the order of the day, but this has to be under fair conditions.
A level playing field is based on the concept of fairness. Athletes compete under the same conditions and with the same rules. Candidates for universities compete on the basis of their high school results which are converted to an entrance rank. This is apparently simple if students come, say from the one Australian state and sit for the same higher school certificate. But difficulties arise when attempts are made to equate certificates from different Australian states and, much more so, if foreign qualifications are involved.
Tertiary education in India up to the mid-1970s was almost entirely in English. Till that time, Indian professionals such as doctors and accountants found it relatively easy to acquire employment in Britain, Canada, the USA and Australia. In the post-World War II years, the British medical system benefited from the import of Indian-qualified doctors. This was paralleled in Australia to a smaller extent. Older Australian migrants from India studied in the English medium and they were at an advantage compared to many migrants from small European countries who had studied in their own languages.
Since the mid-70s, regional languages began to be introduced as the medium of instruction at the undergraduate level in Indian universities. This made the fixing of equivalences with courses in English-speaking countries quite difficult. Many important courses such as medicine, engineering and computing continued though, to be taught in English. As the level of English in Indian universities seemingly declined, American universities began asking prospective Indian students to undergo tests for English as a foreign language.
Indian universities generally cover regions and affiliate colleges within prescribed areas. They thus cater to both humanities and science courses. Some undergraduate courses, particularly in the sciences, are studied in English, whilst humanities and teacher education are taught in regional languages. This adds to the confusion about rating entire universities. A university in Tamil Nadu has recently begun teaching medicine in Tamil. This could have merit for producing doctors for the vast rural areas of Tamil Nadu, but those doctors might find it difficult to work in other Indian states, leave alone in foreign countries.
Well-to-do parents in India tend to send their children to English-speaking countries like the USA, Britain, Canada and Australia for graduate or post-graduate education. The USA has become a favoured destination and American universities (just like Australia) run stalls in education fairs in India to attract prospective students. Education has become globalised. Even some of India’s winning athletes in the Commonwealth Games 2010 were sent to Ukraine for training!
The Times (London) in an annual survey rates the world’s “best” universities on the basis of its own criteria. The ratings are not sacrosanct but do provide important information. Within the “world’s 200 top universities”, one searches in vain for a single Indian university. Of the 82 European universities selected, there is not one from Eastern Europe, including Russia. The listing is obviously West European inclined.
One could attribute this lack of the presence of Indian universities in The Times survey to the factor of language used as the medium of instruction. But then, one notes that there are several universities from Asia in the top 200 such as from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China. The University of Tokyo is ranked at 26, whilst the Pohang University of Science and Technology of South Korea is ranked at 28. These are ahead of the University of Melbourne at 36 and Peking University at 37.
Where education is concerned, the world is not a level playing field. It matters a lot where one studied, in which language one studied and what courses one took. It also depends on where one wants to work as each country assesses qualifications differently. Technical education (TAFE) courses in Australia, for example, till recently differed substantially from one state to another. Measures were then taken to reduce disparities and bring about a semblance of equivalence.
The rise of the Australian dollar vis-à-vis the American dollar seriously puts the export of Australian education at a disadvantage compare to the United States which continues to be the favoured destination for Indian students.
