Inclusion as a Precondition to Higher Education Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs
SHARE Policy Dialogue 14
The European Union Support to Higher Education in ASEAN Region (SHARE) Programme conducted the 14th Policy Dialogue focused on “The Contribution of Higher Education Partnerships in Southeast Asia towards the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 2030”. This was held from 29–31 March 2022 in a hybrid format, online and in-person in Bangkok, Thailand.
Inclusion as a Precondition to Higher Education Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) facilitated a session on “Inclusion as a Precondition to Higher Education Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs” on 30 March 2022, and it was moderated by Ms Reka Tozsa, Senior Project Manager, ASEF.
During the Opening Remarks delivered by Ms Leonie Nagarajan, Director of the Education Department, ASEF, she highlighted how “deeply embedded inclusion and equity are in ASEFs mission”, and elaborated the contributions of ASEF in the promotion of higher education partnerships in Southeast Asia.
ASEF develops studies and research, provides training and capacity building, facilitates policy dialogue, and ensures engagement and awareness across the 51 ASEM Partner countries. In this session, the focus was placed on studies published by ASEF, namely the ARC8 Outlook Report 2030, the ASEM Higher Education Equity Report; the report on Achieving Inclusive Higher Education in the ASEAN Region; and the insights from ASEF Capacity Building Workshops.
ARC8 Outlook Report 2030
The report identified the challenges, risks, and opportunities relating to inclusion and equity in higher education in the next 10 years. The report includes policy recommendations for both policymakers and university leaders (ASEM Partners). This was drafted by experts across Asia and Europe, including experts from the ASEAN. The 4 chapters of the report focused on the following themes:
1. Inclusive Learning and Teaching in a Digital World
2. Inclusive and Flexible Lifelong Learning Pathways
3. Inclusive international mobility of People and knowledge
4. Equitable Access and Success in Higher Education
ASEM National Equity Policies in Higher Education 2021
The report on ASEM National Equity Policies in Higher Education shed light on the various approaches of governments across Asia and Europe in supporting students from all social backgrounds and circumstances to access higher education. This study is based on a survey developed by ASEF which garnered a response from 47 ASEM partner countries.
The study finds a need for further work in assisting countries from across the income and participation spectrum in developing policies on equitable access and success in higher education. Nonetheless, there are foundations for furthering equitable access and success in higher education which must be built on moving forward.
Report Launch: Achieving Inclusive Higher Education in the ASEAN Region
The report on “Achieving inclusive Higher Education in the ASEAN Region” was developed by graduate students of the National University of Singapore, in cooperation with ASEF, and was launched during the SHARE Policy Dialogue 14.
“ASEAN HEI has made progress in recent years to provide more equitable access to students from marginalized and disadvantaged groups. However, by only promoting equitable access is not enough.”
The report examined the main challenges and opportunities within ASEAN Higher Education Institutions and offers a series of policy recommendations. Based on the survey with 291 respondents across the ASEAN, this report provided a number of recommendations. Gain insights from these recommendations, read the report here.
Area of Action for Higher Education partnerships: Data Collection
These studies highlight the issue of major gaps in the understanding of inclusion, and equitable access and success in higher education, and establish the universal recognition of inclusive, equitable access and success in higher education. At the same time, taking a closer look into country and institution contexts, these studies also show how varied specific challenges, opportunities, and understanding of inclusive, equitable access and success are.
Ultimately, these studies highlight the data gap issue, concerns with data collection relating to policies and practices on inclusive, equitable access and success in higher education.
Therefore, these studies recommend, particularly for policymakers, a review of the potential advancements in information technology, possibly integrating social surveys, and developing systems incentivizing HEI to improve data collection.
Likewise, these studies recommend, for higher Education Institutions, establishing systems for data collection that are culturally and legally fit to the contexts these function within.
Roundtable Discussion: Practitioners’ Views on Inclusive Partnerships in ASEAN
ASEF also provides capacity building in addition to the research it conducts. Two capacity building workshops of relevance to the topic are:
- Equitable Access and Success in Higher Education
- Advancing Inclusion in international Higher Education in ASEAN (in collaboration with SHARE)
Participating in the panel discussion were:
- Assoc. Prof. Filmor Murillo, Director of the Centre for International Linkages and Affairs, Camarines Sur Polytechnic Colleges, Philippines
- Dr Hui Min Low, Associate Professor, Special Education Programme, School of Educational Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
- Dr Agustinus Hermino Superma, Project Manager, International Consultant, Lancang Mekong Cooperation Project, Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR
The panel was moderated by Prof. Nopraenue Sajjarax Dhirathiti, Vice President for International Relations and Corporate Communication, Mahidol University, Thailand.
The discussion was divided into three primary focuses, the national level, institutional level, and a focus on the challenges in specific countries.
Estimated 2.5 million Filipino youth now enjoy free higher education in State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) in the Philippines thanks to recent the introduction of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (RA10931) in 2017. — Prof. Filmor Murillo, Philippines
Prof Nopraenue summarised the “importance to look at the national and institutional level to see how policies are in place… policy rhetoric does acknowledge inclusion and the basic human right to access higher education in ASEAN.”
ASEF encourages higher education stakeholders and the public at large to watch the session recordings in the following links:
1.SHARE Policy Dialogue 14 — Day 1
2.SHARE Policy Dialogue 14 — Day 2 (incl ASEF Session)
3.SHARE Policy Dialogue 14 — Day 3
