UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge

1
UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and
Knowledge

• Questions and Comments at the OECD Forum
• Measuring Knowledge Societies
• (Istanbul, June 2007)

2
Human Capital and the Older WorkerKey
Questions (Professors Ester and Kerkhofs)

• Is the basic thesis
• Realistic
• Desirable
• Equitable
• ..in a global world?

3
The Global Picture Some Comments

• OECD (25 countries) cf The World (195
  countries).. the population divide
• Education/training/skills a universal policy
  goal involving major challenges and diverse
  related areas (e.g. health, economic growth
  labour markets, security levels.)
• the 2000 UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
  and the 1999 Dakar Education for All Goals are
  key strategies for strengthening human capital
  via progress towards sustained human development
  and the role of education/training in this

4
The Global Picture and Human Capital

• Human Capital. How what you know shapes your
  life
• (OECD Report 2007, Brian Keely)
• So, a few statistics in Education and related
  areas

5
Education

• EFA and the E9 countries with huge young
  populations (Egypt, Nigeria, India, Bangladesh,
  Pakistan, China, Indonesia , Mexico, Brazil)
• Higher Education the worlds leading Research
  Universities (Super RUs) are mainly in one
  country
• Dual track policies Wider Access and Research
  Capacity (e.g China, Nigeria, Pakistan)

6
Investing in Human Capital via Education

• Expenditure on education as part of the GNP
  Malaysia and Tunisia now spend more than OECD
  countries Thailand 25, Madagascar 24,
  Ukraine 18, St Lucia 16, Lesotho 13, Congo
  8, Chad 2
• Primary education out of school children rates
  Mauritania 27, Venezuela 7, Cuba 2,
  Netherlands 1
• Improving youth literacy rates Kuwait 97,
  Colombia 98, Burkina Faso 33
• Female enrolments in Tertiary Education
  Sweden 60, South Africa 55, Iran 51, Mexico
  50, Japan 46,Republic of Korea 37, Guinea 19
  
• (Source UNESCO Institute of Statistics)

7
STI and Scientific Research

• Israel. leads the world in R and D investment
• Patents only 10 come from developing countries
• the Arab States suffers an exodus of PhDs to
  OECD countries

8
IT Connectivity Levels

• Connectivity levels per 10.000 persons (900 in
  Norway , New Zealand cf .01 Niger, .03 Nigeria,
  .06 Gambia)
• IT infrastructure Japan 100 cf 0
  Bangladesh
• Connectivity inequalities in developing
  countries Rural areas 30 cf urban areas 70
• Language dominance 75 of the Internet is in
  English (10 of the world is proficient in this
  language)
• (Source UNESCO Report for the World Summit on
  theInformation Society 2003 and 2005)

9
Areas related to EFA

• Wealth/poverty divide the total assets of the
  10 wealthiest persons the total GNP of the
  Least Developed Countries
• Health and the AIDS challenge preventive and
  clinical health policies, the role of preventive
  education, AIDS affects 48 of academics in
  Botswana
• Work/employment 3 billion workers in developing
  countries a stable or mobile workforce? (Sachs
  vs Pritchett) promoting entrepreneurship (e,g,
  the Grameen Bank micro-credit scheme, Benins
  textile industry is run by women)
• Cultural Diversity cultural policies and
  immigration , the language issue in EFA, the
  cultural industries /economy link

10
Education and Training in the Knowledge Economy

• Brain Drain ? (e.g. Nigerian doctors and
  teachers)
• Brain Gain ? (e.g. India and returning Silicon
  Valley IT experts, 41 of doctors in New Zealand
  are foreign-born )
• Brain Circulation ? (e.g.mobilizing the
  diaspora from Africa and the Arab States,
  encouraging cooperative arrangements such as
  joint professorships, dual research appointments
  and facilities, jointly awarded graduate degrees)

11
Conclusions

• If
• - the OECD faces a shrinking workforce
• - global economic players operate across
  borders
• - the immigration scenario receives limited
  support
• Then
• - mobilizing/ retaining older workers may be
  one desirable policy amongst others
• - concurrently, a broader and more diverse
  approach may be realistic
• - to mitigate the global social risk, meeting
  global challenges related to human
  capital requires equitable solutions