Importance of Higher Education in Contemporary Society - Report Example

What is the importance of higher education in contemporary society and how should it be funded or organised Basically, higher education is the highest level of learning which is attained upon enrolling at either a University or college which offers specialised professional or academic qualifications such as degrees or diplomas. At institutions of higher learning, students are equipped with basic skills and knowledge that can be used to foster development in any given modern society. Higher education plays a pivotal role in the shaping of social, cultural, political and even economic values in the contemporary society. Thus, the government should take greater responsibility of funding this noble cause of building an educated citizenry with basic knowledge and skills on how they can improve their welfare. In essence, education is gained through learning .The process of learning involves activities in which human beings try to gain knowledge and grasp the unknown facets of the world in which they live in a bid to master and ultimately conquer them (Fourie. Oberholzer: 1992:55). By learning about new things and attaching meaning to them, higher education in this particular case allows students to create their own living space in which they come to self actualization by conquering their own emotional insecurity and broadening their knowledge concerning social, cultural, political, economic, ethical and moral issues (Fourie 1992). Thus self actualization implies the realization of one’s potential in respect of physical skills, mental capacities and consciousness and this can be achieved through educative support where higher education is designed to equip the graduates with the skills of approaching different problems and solving them in the modern world. Basically higher education focuses on specialized theoretical and practical training in one or more fields of study giving the learner a broad understanding of that particular field. Most people study one or two subjects within a particular area of interest like engineering or other courses such as journalism or medicine that lead to a specific type of job. Thus, there are many purposes of higher education with the main one being graduating students who will become productive citizens. It is widely believed that higher learning plays a very important role especially for the reasons of national economic performance as it will provide learners with valuable knowledge in different areas. Higher education means a lot more than just getting a qualification. It exposes the learner to various facets of the contemporary world that include the socio-political and even economic landscapes of the modern world. Unlike at high school, being at university or college is a choice that gives you the freedom to study a subject related to the job you are really into. Higher education gives the students more control over their studies and is a bit challenging where one is expected to do far more work on his own. However, lectures and seminars will provide guidance but the need to widen knowledge through background reading is emphasized. Some researchers suggest that every member of an institution of higher education is responsible for promoting educationally purposeful activities that lead to producing good citizens. They argue that students, faculty, administrators, and staff should attempt to prepare students for productive lives after college (American College Personnel Association, 1994). As is the general trend globally, education is regarded as the gateway to success and this can be achieved through getting gainful employment of some sorts. Usually University graduands are highly sought after by employers as they possess high analytical skills which include critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving. Employers want the college graduates they employ to be able to solve problems on their own. They seek people who can take complex issues and make decisions that positively affect the business and its clients. For instance for problem solving to take place, there should be a gap between the graduate’s existing knowledge, what he knows at a particular moment and on the other hand what he has to know in order to reach a solution(Fourie 1992). Given this scenario, it can be noted that these are some of the skills gained at universities or colleges of higher learning. . However, attaining higher education requires quite a substantial amount of money to meet the expenses involved in acquiring an education. Basically there are two main types of costs related to higher education which are tuition fees and day to day living expenses. There are a number of things to take into account when considering the cost of higher education. The living costs for full-time students include accommodation, household bills such as gas, electricity, water rates, phone, clothes, travel, leisure and books among others. Given that many students come from different family backgrounds, some less privileged, a mechanism to fund tertiary education ought to be put in place as a way of promoting this noble cause of building an educated citizenry. The government being the center of power and authority should take a leading role in funding higher education as it affects all facets of human life. This can be done through the provision of loans or grants to aspiring students. Thus, according to a research by Nicholas Barr (2001) entitled Funding Higher Education: policies of access and quality, higher education should not be totally free but funding mechanisms such as loan schemes and grants by the government may help improve the quality and access to higher education. The quality of higher education is very important for the purpose of national competitiveness. For instance UK higher education needs substantial additional funding for reasons of national economic performance. Higher education is also regarded as an important export industry. Funding should not solely depend on the taxpayers’ coffers, in the face of other issues such as health expenditure, but through a student loan scheme which can draw in private finance on fiscally attractive terms. Funding of higher education should strive to strike a fine balance between two equally competing forces that is access and quality. Today there are more higher education institutions in UK, more students, and much greater diversity of subject matter Barr (2001). However, the characteristics and the costs of different degrees at different institutions vary widely. Thus universities need to be funded differentially. This can be done through implementing a strategy that has three mutually reinforcing elements which are flexible fees, a wide-ranging loan system and active measures to promote access. Flexible fees are necessary to reflect diversity and to arrest quality decline. This should be achieved through a wide-ranging loan system which should be adequate to cover living costs and tuition fees. Loan entitlement should become universal, thus eliminating the unpopular and complex income test and getting rid of parental contributions. In most cases students are poor because the system of support does not give them enough to live on while on the other hand, Universities are also poor, creating worries about quality .Barr (2001). The government in most cases should have the responsibility of funding higher education through the provision of grants and loans to prospective students considering that people come from different backgrounds. Thus according to a Government Policy Document on higher education in Britain (2008), students are entitled to an Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA), as well as grant to help with costs of higher education. This grant will not need to be repaid if one is a 16-year-old already receiving an EMA in academic year 2008/2009. There’s more financial help for new students going into higher education from September 2008. In this regard, from September 2008, around one third of eligible new students are expected to be entitled to a full Maintenance Grant of up to around £2,835. Around a further third are expected to qualify for part of the Maintenance Grant. In other words, it will reduce the amount you can get through Student Loans. Students who are likely to qualify under this provision would include single parents, or students with certain disabilities, students with parents who are also students. But there are also other students who may be eligible for the Special Support Grant depending on their varying social circumstances. Students should also be granted loans by the government to further their higher education whereby they would repay the loans after completion of their studies. According to the policy document, if for instance one is due to start repaying student loans after 1 April 2012 in Britain, he is offered the choice of putting repayments on hold for up to a total of five years. This could help the student invest his money where it is most needed at important times of life, for example, buying a home or starting a family. A study entitled Higher Education Funding-International comparisons (2001) tries to analyse the government participation on higher education. This paper aims to set out the key features of higher education systems internationally, focusing on thirteen of the thirty countries who are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The thirteen countries are: Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, United States of America. The study is premised on the notion that governments are facing similar issues relating to higher education at the start of the 21st century. These include building a successful and modernised higher education system, putting in place the right size of higher education system and providing the right numbers of graduates to meet the needs of the economy and society. The report summary shows that students are required to make a contribution to the cost of their studies and fee structures have not negatively impacted on higher education. The paper also analyses recent trends in financing higher education and compares developments in the UK with those in other parts of the world. Many common issues include the appropriate rate of participation, the extent to which contributions to the costs of higher education learning should come from the state, the student or their family. The report also seeks to show the extent of support available to students and whether this is in the form of loans, grants, or a combination of the two. Some countries have fairly comprehensive student support mechanisms in place, while others expect students or their parents to provide that support. Whilst others are refining the way in which students contribute to their learning the UK for instance has got both a varying fee structure in place for non EU citizens and the government also offers grant support. According to the report, the fee structures have not affected accessibility to education. However, according to the same report UK has been spending little on higher education compared to other counties within the OECD. The OECD average percentage of GDP spent on tertiary education was 1.7 per cent in 2001 with UK below this at 1.0 per cent. However, an analysis of the trend in higher education in UK shows that there is growing participation by the government in funding higher education. In view of the above argument, higher education is very important in the socio-economic development of any nation in the contemporary society. The government must have a greater stake in the funding of higher education as it is central to the growth of the economy as a whole. Bibliography 1. Cornie Alant et al.: Sociology and Society: A Humanist Profile, Southern Book publishers, (1990). 2. Nicholas Barr, Funding Higher Education: policies of access and quality, London School of Economics and Political Science, (2001). http://www.econ.ise.ac.uk/nb/barr/selcom 3. D.J. Fourie et al, Education 2, 2nd Edition, Via Afrika (Ltd), 1992. 4. Gerard O’Donnell, Mastering Sociology, 3rd Edition, McMillan Press Ltd, 1994. 5. Higher Education Funding-International Comparisons http://www.dfes.gov.uk/hegateway/HEfunding 6. Alexandria V.A., The Student Learning Imperative: Implications for student Affairs, America College of Personnel Association (1994). Read More