Quality or quantity is a choice we should not have to make
Worawalun Yarn-arpha, WHEC2022 student blogger
Is inequality in access and success in higher education inevitable? Do we too readily accept that higher education should be rationed and is a privilege for those who can afford it?
Professor Graeme Atherton, director of the World Access to Higher Education Network (WAHEN) and National Education Opportunities Network (NEON), posed these ever-relevant questions at this year’s UNESCO World Higher Education Conference in Barcelona. In fact, asking them is perhaps more relevant than ever because of the importance of access in the Sustainable Development Goals and the SDGs in general as climate and other crises are getting worse.
They resonate well with my experiences as a student from Thailand where, for years, the number of universities and the number of undergraduate programmes offered has increased tremendously to the extent that for some programmes, not all seats are filled. Yet, we still see that for many young people the highest qualification is junior high school, or senior high school at most.
Social realities
So there is accessibility, but not actual access. To explain that, one has to reach beyond the technicalities of new education infrastructure and curricula to Thailand’s social realities.
Many farmers in Thailand, especially in worse-off households, tend to have a large number of children as they view them as an investment in a workforce. When children reach certain age, they are typically forced to leave school and take up work on their family farms. This can be changed by educating parents on family planning and debt restructuring.
Secondly, some children choose not to enter the education system. This is not because they cannot afford it, but because, other than the universally respected fields of medicine or law, the education offered is looked down upon.
I believe if every type of career is regarded with similar importance, young people in Thailand will make more varied educational choices.
I believe if every type of career is regarded with similar importance, young people in Thailand will make more varied educational choices. In Professor Atherton’s words, we should not leave behind those who cannot or do not want to access higher education.
But what are equal education opportunities anyway? Professor Atherton used the example of Oxford and Cambridge ignoring students’ social background during the admission process, as they do not think it's fair to judge them on that.
As much fairness as possible
Should we exclude social background from consideration when we discuss access to higher education? Obviously not, but we need to account for it with as much fairness as possible. This should be something to keep in mind going forward in our debate.
This might sound extreme but there could be a clear announcement that after academic achievements, extra-curricular activities and the letter of recommendation are examined, candidates who met those criteria will be grouped based on their social background and ranked among others within their group.
People within the same social background will be given access to university compared to each other and not across social groups. And percentages can be set for particular groups. This can assure academic excellence and inclusivity. However, for some countries, this may be too extreme and another approach should be considered.
I'd also suggest full transparency. Students deserve to know the rationale behind admission committee decisions and they should be granted the right to appeal them.
For more articles on WHEC2022 & the SDG's please visit University World News.
Worawalun Yarn-arpha is a Batch 4 SHARE EU-ASEAN scholarship awardee. Her undergraduate studies in economics sparked a passion for economic development and has also led her to work at Thailand’s Central Bank. Her next goal is to explore a way to use behavioural sciences to increase the efficiency of public and monetary policy.