GLOBALISATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION: CHALLENGES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

Effective education systems are the foundation of opportunities to lead a decent life. The impact of globalization on culture and educational system is a major concern. Some people saw it as a treat for traditional institutions such as the family and the school, another argument saw benefits in overturning traditional and developing modern attitudes. This paper will analysis the positive and negative impacts of globalization on education for developing countries and argues that the challenges facing higher education in the new millennium cannot be understood unless proper account is taken of the phenomenon of globalisation. Two points are emphasised. The first is that globalisation cannot simply be seen as a higher form of internationalisation; it is a much more turbulent phenomenon that not only transcends but ignores national boundaries. The second is that globalisation is one element within a larger shift from modernity to post-modernity, which involves not only the radical reconfiguration of society but also an even more radical reconstitution of the concepts and mentalities of the modern world. The university is caught in the middle - as both an institution that embodies modernity but also one of the instrument that is most actively transcending its limits. It is assumed that globalization promises dramatic and rewarding change to the higher education systems, of societies, which are relatively stable in their political, social and institutional makeup, while for the others, it may threaten the very stability needed to build well performing higher education system. The article ends by considering whether the university can survive in this brave new world of globalization and post modernity or whether its place will be taken by new forms of `knowledge' organisation. It concludes that, although the new environment will test the resilience of the university to its limits, it can - and will - survive.