Don’t rely too much on rankings, varsities urged
AUTONOMY and accountability are essential components to quality of tertiary education according to a study commissioned by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS), an independent not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting market-based solutions to public policy challenges.
The study entitled “Autonomy and Accountability in Higher Education: Lessons from Ghana and Mexico” by Dr Sean Matthews, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts, University of Nottingham cautioned against an over-reliance on international university rankings.
Matthews cited the unique practices that Ghana and Mexico adopted in order to empower universities to self-govern while maintaining quality at the same time. He chose the two countries given the many points of comparison with Malaysia as developing and middle-income post-colonial nations with robust higher education sectors.
IDEAS research director Ali Salman said: “International university rankings in our view measure several important aspects of a university’s performance such as its academic reputation, research capacity, teaching staff, marketability and internationalisation. These are essential components of a good university and we certainly commend the five Malaysian public universities that recently improved in the QS rankings.
“However, Dr Matthews made a valid point that universities should not be limited by just rankings, countries should be free to adopt innovative approaches to higher education based on their own unique context.
“The example in Ghana, shows how universities in Malaysia can solve problems through an original approach. The vicechancellor of the University of Ghana, Clifford Tagoe allowed a highly critical team of external experts to make detailed recommendations on how to improve the university. As a result, the university’s reputation improved greatly, particularly in terms of public trust in the university,” Ali Salman added.
Matthews’s study showcases how universities in these countries have a lot more freedom to self-govern. In Mexico, although 75-90 per cent of public university funding comes from the government, the state does not have a big influence on the governance of these universities.
“Instead, consultation is made with various stakeholders, including an independent network of universities called the National Association of Universities and Higher Education Institutes (ANUIES). In Ghana, the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) and the National Accreditation Board (NAB), both independent bodies, play a role in ensuring quality in higher education and not the government”, said Ali Salman.
“But in order for our policies to change we need serious debate on how to improve our higher education institutions. Unlike Malaysia, there are impassioned debates regarding higher education in both Ghana and Mexico. It is not just the politicians speaking, but academics, members of the scientific community, commercial industries and even students are really involved in shaping higher education policies. This type of robust discussion is necessary if we want to come to a solution that is uniquely our own.’’