Indo-French Educational Partnerships: Institutions, Technologies and Higher Education

146 Pages·2017·8.503 MB·English

by  Pilkington, Marc

Indo-French Educational
Partnerships
MarcPilkington
Indo-French
Educational
Partnerships
Institutions, Technologies and Higher Education
MarcPilkington
LEDi,FacultyofLaw,EconomicsandPoliticalScience
UniversityofBurgundy
Dijon,France
ISBN978-1-137-50081-6 ISBN978-1-137-50082-3(eBook)
DOI10.1057/978-1-137-50082-3
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P
REFACE
Whatmakesoursocietiesgrowandprosper?Thisquestionisalmostasold
as the field of economics itself. Growth theory morphed into a branch of
economicsinitsownrightthroughoutthetwentiethcentury,withmajor
economists,suchasSchumpeterandSolow,offeringtheoriesandmodels
based on capital accumulation and technological progress. As Greenwald
andStiglitz(2014,p.14)note,subsequentattemptsattheprecise quan-
tification of the respective roles of the different inputs in growth theory
provedextremelydifficult,mainlybecausethe inputsunderscrutinywere
intertwined.Theimplementationofnewtechnologiesishencecontingent
on the availability of capital equipment, such as new machines, and the
respectivecontributionofcapitalaccumulationandtechnologicalprogress
toproductivitygrowthisperhapsporous,atleast,notasclear-cutasearly
growthmodelsseemed to suggest.
This reflection has acquired a qualitative dimension with the introduc-
tionofa newelement, namelylearning.Itisanundisputable factthatno
matter how these phenomena are explained, quantified or measured,
growth and prosperity are also about ‘learning to do things better’
(2014, p. 14). In this sense, one should never understate the conditions
(material,economic,intellectualandspiritual)createdbypolicymakers,to
promote andenhancethe learning environment oftheir citizens.
Notonlyisthepaceoflearning(innovation)themostimportantdetermi-
nant of increases in standards of living, the pace itself is almost surely
partially, if not largely, endogenous. The speed of progress has differed
v
vi PREFACE
markedlybothovertimeandacrosscountries,andwhilewemaynotbeable
toexplainallofthisvariation,itisclearthatgovernmentpolicieshaveplayed
arole.Learningisaffectedbytheeconomicandsocialenvironmentandthe
structure of the economy, as well as public and private investments in
researchandeducation.(2014,p.15)
Hernes (2006, p. 3) argues that ‘to provide skilled workers, administra-
tors, technicians, engineers, doctors and nurses, indeed, to manage all
sectors of the modern economy by applying advanced knowledge, a
well-functioning education system is mandatory and higher education
has animportant roleto play’.
The central nature of knowledge was acknowledged by the OECD as
earlyas1996.
TheOECDeconomiesareincreasinglybasedonknowledgeandinformation.
Knowledge is now recognised as the driver of productivity and economic
growth, leading to a new focus on the roleof information, technology and
learningineconomicperformance.Theterm‘knowledge-basedeconomy’stems
from this fuller recognition of the place of knowledge and technology in
modernOECDeconomies.(OECD1996,p.3)
This takesus tothe centrallocus ofhigher educationprovision.
Auniversityisaplacewherenewideasgerminate,strikerootsandgrowtall
and sturdy. Itisa unique space,which covers the entireuniverse ofknowl-
edge.Itisaplacewherecreativemindsconverge,interactwitheachotherand
constructvisionsofnewrealities.Establishednotionsoftrutharechallenged
inthepursuitofknowledge.(YashpalCommitteereport2009,p.9)
Beyondtheconfinesofadvancedeconomies,progresshasbeenmadesince
the 1990s, with regard tothe fundamental role of emergent economies in
thiswide-rangingtransformation,andtheshifttowardsaglobalknowledge-
basedeconomy.
Inthisnewconfiguration,howdoeconomiesdiffer,orcomplementeach
other? How do they diverge or converge? Can potential synergies between
learninginstitutions,beyondnationalboundaries,traditionsandcultures,be
identifiedexante?Adecisiveeventthatledtothedraftingofthepresentbook
wastheopportunityforcollaborativeresearchfundedbytheUniversityGrants
PREFACE vii
Commission, Delhi, and FMSH, Paris, on ‘International Trade in Higher
EducationServicesinaPost-GATSScenario:LearningExperiencesforIndia
andFrance’in2008.WewerehostedatthetimebytheresearchunitCNRS-
GREDEG,Valbonne,undertheguidanceofProfessorDominiqueTorre.
Ajoint-presentationwasgivenatUNESCOinNovember2008.Inthe
following years, our Indo-French research cooperation flourished, with
severalacademicpaperspublishedinleadinginternationaljournals,suchas
International Journal of Education Economics and Development or
European Journal of Education. This book is the latest achievement in
this ongoing cooperation between France and India. Hopefully, it will
benefit academics, students, administrators and policymakers of the two
countries,andbeyond.
Marc PilkingtonandGeetaNair
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
WewishtothankourcolleaguesatNice,SophiaAntipolisUniversity,who
wereactivelyinvolvedinourfirstcollaborativeresearchprojectin2008;our
sincere thanks to Dominique Torre, Sylvie Rocchia and Cécile Hagnauer.
We are grateful at the institutional level to UGC, Government of India,
FMSH, and the coordinators of the Indo-French Fellowship Programme
forestablishingthescientificandmaterialconditionsofthisfacultyvisit.We
alsothanktheorganizersoftheglobal researchseminarheldatUNESCO
in Paris in November 2008 for their kind invitation. Finally, we thank
Andrew, Eleanor and Laura at Palgrave Macmillan who showed tremen-
douspatience,dedicationandapplicationthroughoutthisproject.
Marc PilkingtonandGeetaNair
ix
C
ONTENTS
1 WhyFrance andIndia? The ConvergenceHypothesis 1
1.1 The Cross-Fertilizationof Franceand India’s Intellectual
Histories 1
1.2 A Transdisciplinary Outlook 5
1.3 A Triple Knowledge-BasedConvergencebetween theTwo
Systems 6
Note 14
2 Education,Growth andDevelopment 15
2.1 The Link BetweenHigher Education andGrowth 16
2.2 The KnowledgeTriangle and theLisbon Strategy 18
2.3 Wither the LisbonStrategy,Welcome Europe 2020 20
2.4 Human Capitaland Economic Development 24
3 TheFrench Higher EducationLandscape 27
3.1 Overview of theFrench Higher EducationSystem 27
3.2 France and theBolognaProcess 29
3.3 Institutional and LegalFeatures ofthe French Higher
Education System 31
3.4 A SWOT Analysisofthe French HigherEducation System 49
Notes 56
xi
xii CONTENTS
4 TheIndian Scenario 57
4.1 Introduction 58
4.2 Enhancing Access,Excellence andEquity 68
4.3 Internationalization 72
4.4 Ongoing Reformsand Institutional Innovations 77
Notes 85
5 AnIndo-FrenchVirtual University Project 87
5.1 Indo-French Cooperationin Higher Education:Where Do
We Stand? 88
5.2 Paving the Way foran Indo-FrenchVirtualUniversity 95
5.3 Conclusion 107
Notes 108
References 111
Index 131