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False hopes of ‘imported’ rector
Hopefully, the initiative to import rectors is not born out of the desperation of the higher education authority in this country — which feels it has done many things but has not made significant progress.
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it is assumed that by having a great foreign rector, a university will be transformed into a reputable research university. I am worried that this initiative will only produce false hopes. (Shutterstock/99Art)
T
he government’s plan to hire foreign rectors is worth discussing, not just to reject or approve the initiative. The discussion must dive into the true objectives and benefits we may gain from it. The research, technology and higher education minister told the media that foreign rectors would present world quality education while increasing the ranking of our universities.
We should ponder the plan carefully, whether or not it is too simplistic, if not naive. Imagine a quantum leap in terms of the quality and reputation of a university just by importing a rector, the same effect as signing Lionel Messi or Christiano Ronaldo for our soccer team to help us win, or at least qualify for, the World Cup.
The idea of importing rectors is inseparable from the burden on the country’s higher education authority to create a world-class university, namely a research university with an internationally prestigious rating. In other words, it is assumed that by having a great foreign rector, a university will be transformed into a reputable research university. I am worried that this initiative will only produce false hopes.
Not only rectors, but the full presence of international branch campuses (IBCs) from well-known research universities of America, Europe or Australia in Asia and Africa has proven to be unable to bring about research excellence. At present, hundreds of existing IBCs are only able to attract students by their international brands, or at the most offer a simulated academic atmosphere of the parent campus, as education experts Kevin Kinser and Jason Lane have found.
Hopefully, the initiative to import rectors is not born out of the desperation of the higher education authority in this country — which feels it has done many things but has not made significant progress. Whatever the motive, importing academics or learning materials is nothing new in the world of higher education.
Jamil Salmi, the World Bank’s tertiary education coordinator, eight years ago even included both of them on a list of nine mistakes that commonly occurred in the effort to create a world-class university. According to Salmi the two errors are (1) importing content from somewhere else; and (2) relying on foreign academics without building up local capacity.
