UNE CONVENTION INTERNATIONALE?

Professor Marco Antonio R. Dias

Paris, October 2002

Introduction

- OCTAVIO PAZ: “THE SEARCH FOR THE FUTURE ENDS INEVITABLY WITH THE RECONQUEST OF THE PAST”.

-Un long chemin dans le domaine de la mobilité

Réflexion: Réunion à Sofia en 1983 Document d ’orientation (policy paper) 1993-1995 supplément de diplôme modernisation du système (crédits, semestres etc) Rapport Edgar Faure

-L ’APPROCHE RÉGIONALE

Congrès de Nice en 1950 et création de l’AIU Stratégie visant à aller d’abord dans les régions dimension régionale: relais important entre

l’échelle nationale et l’échelle internationale Stratégie utilisée pour la préparationn du

document d’orientation et pour l’organisation de la Conférence Mondiale sur l’enseignement supérieur .

EQUIVALENCE ET RECONNAISSANCE

Équivalence pratiquement impossible d’établir CMES - Article 11: - Qualité est un concept

multidimensionnel tenir compte de la diversité et d’éviter l’uniformité utilisation dès 1974 du concept et du terme

“reconnaissance”. Notion d’étapes d’études conventions ne peuvent pas tout résoudre:

nécessité réviser les mécanismes d’application, tout en contemplant la question de l’accréditation

Mécanisme d’application de la Recommandation de 1993.

Transformer en convention la Recommandation de 1993

Approche plus légitime que celle de réunir un groupe d’experts

initiatives dans le Nord, mais aussi dans le Sud: réseau à Bangkok, Institut d’accréditation du Cinda;

UNE CONVENTION INTERNATIONALE?

reconnaître ce que les représentants japonais à l’OMC ont appelé “les fabriques de diplômes sans qualité”

qui seront ceux qui vont accréditer (the gatekeepers)? Qui a le droit de constituer un groupe d’experts internationaux? Quels seront les models ou standards? Ces standards seront-ils de nature à garantir la diversité culturelle? Seront-ils de nature à garantir que les institutions rendent service aux sociétés?

En 1998, la déclaration de Paris a stimulé la diversification, le concept multidimensionnel de la qualité, la vision de l’enseignement supérieur comme service public, la qualité liée à la pertinence, las dimension internationale avec des réseaux reposant sur le partage, la solidarité et l’égalité entre les partenaires, l’intensification de la ratification et de l’application des instruments normatifs.

RÉCONNAÎTRE N ’IMPORTE QUOI!

The existence of private providers does not justify the adoption of the principle of transforming education into a commodity. In this debate, the notion of public service is implicit. In fact, a public service, the supply of water, for example, or the development and management of public transportation, can be entrusted to the private sector, under regulations laid down by public authorities. For a service to be considered public, it must be implemented on an equal basis. Everyone must have the right to drinkable water, independently of which organisation provides this service. In addition, public service must be continuous and permanent. It is unacceptable for the service to be limited or partial.

THE NOTION OF PUBLIC SERVICE

APPROVAL OF GATS In April 1994, governments of about 140 countries approved the GATS (Global

Agreement on Trade Services). This was done within the framework of GATT (Global Agreement on Trade and Tariffs), the predecessor of WTO, an organisation

created in 1995 and designed to increase trade liberalisation internationally.

AMBIGUITY OF DEFINITIONS In the first part, the agreement deals with its scope and definitions. In Article 3, one

extremely important but also very ambiguous provision concerns the definition of services and the extension of the area covered by GATS. Here, we learn that in federal or multinational countries, these rules apply to all levels of government, national, regional or local. It also states that ‘services’ include any service in any sector except those supplied in the exercise of governmental authority. Some people believe that this article excludes public universities from these rules, but immediately after that, it continues, “a service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority” means any service which is supplied neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with one or more suppliers.”

- The 12 sectors defined by WTO are:

business (including professional and computer) services

communication services construction and related engineering

services distribution services educational services environmental services financial (insurance and banking) services health-related and social services tourism and travel-related services recreational, cultural and sporting

services transport services and other services not included elsewhere

12 SECTORS OF SERVICES

MOST FAVOURED NATION

The second part of gats covers general obligations and disciplines, and its implementation is compulsory. It deals with duties and general disciplines. Here, one finds one of the most important and discussed elements of GATS and of WTO rules in general: the principle of the most favoured nation. What does it imply? It means that each party “shall accord immediately and unconditionally to services and service providers of any other party, treatment no less favourable than that it accords to like services and service providers of any other country. Thus, if a country allows foreign institutions to provide distance education services, all other countries can request to have the same treatment. If a subsidy is given to one, others can also request the same advantage.

NATIONAL TREATMENT

The third part of GATS concerns specific commitments and here we come to another fundamental point of GATS, the “national treatment”, which would not cover general obligations but commitments made in national schedules. The national treatment clause contains an obligation to treat both foreign and domestic service suppliers in the same manner. In Latin America, many representatives of academic public institutions consider that the rigid application of this article can authorise institutions of distance education from United States, for example, to demand subsidies similar to those received by public universities in any individual country.

REFORMS AT WTO The important element to be taken into

consideration nowadays is the reform of the world financial system. The new Director General of WTO, Supoachai Panitchpakdi, since 1 September 2002, is engaged in this process. It is an extremely sensitive matter because, on one side, developed countries risk opposing changes that may end up in diminishing their absolute control of the Organisation. On the other side, it is clear that many developing countries consider their lack of effective involvement in the decision-making processes within WTO to be unacceptable.

A POSITIVE AGENDA FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

The idea of a positive agenda supported by UNCTAD is also applicable to education. And it already exists. In Paris, in 1998, .5.000 participants and representatives of more than 180 countries at the World Conference on Higher Education, adopted a declaration and action plan, which are perceived in many countries as the guidelines for concrete action and reforms in the field of higher education, including its internationalisation. Higher education must serve sustainable development and must help to build a better society or, as it would be said today, to build a fair globalisation, which all societies in the world deserve.

Higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit, in keeping with Article 26.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As a consequence, no discrimination can be accepted in granting access to higher education on grounds of race, gender, language, religion or economic, cultural or social distinctions, or physical disabilities.

Relevance in higher education should be assessed in terms of the fit between what society expects of institutions and what they do. For this, institutions and systems, in particular in their reinforced relations with the world of work, should base their long-term orientations on societal aims and needs, including the respect of cultures and environment protection. Developing entrepreneurial skills and initiatives should become major concerns of higher education. Special attention should be paid to higher education's role of service to society, especially activities aimed at eliminating poverty, intolerance, violence, illiteracy, hunger, environmental degradation and disease, and to activities aiming at the development of peace, through an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach.

Quality in higher education is a multidimensional concept, which should embrace l its functions and activities: teaching and academic programmes, research and scholarship, staffing, students, infrastructure and the academic environment. Particular attention should be paid to the advancement of knowledge through research. Higher education institutions in all regions should be committed to transparent internal and external evaluation, conducted openly by independent specialists.

The potential of new information and communication technologies for the renewal of higher education by extending and diversifying delivery, and by making knowledge and information available to a wider public should be fully utilised. Equitable access to these should be assured through international co-operation and support to countries that lack capacities to acquire such tools. Adapting these technologies to national, regional and local needs and securing technical, educational, management and institutional systems to sustain them should be a priority.

Higher education should be considered as a public service. While diversified sources of funding, private and public, are necessary public support for higher education and research remains essential to ensure a balanced achievement of its educational and social missions. Management and financing in higher education should be instruments to improve quality and relevance. This requires the development of appropriate planning and policy-analysis capacities and strategies based on partnerships between higher education institutions and responsible state authorities. Autonomy to manage internal affairs is necessary, but with clear and transparent accountability to society.

The international dimension of higher education is an inherent part of its quality. Networking, which has emerged as a major means of action, should be based on sharing, solidarity and equality among partners.