DG/2001/79 Original: English UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION Address by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the occasion of the award of an Honorary Professorship by the Renmin University of China (PUC) Beijing, 23 August 2001
1 Mr President of the Renmin University of China, Distinguished Ministers, Academic staff and students, Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great pleasure for me to be here with you today. I am deeply honoured by the award of an honorary professorship by this distinguished university, the Renmin University of China, which has long been renowned for its high academic standards and intellectual excellence. The high distinction of Renmin University is recognized far beyond the borders of this country. To be so honoured by a university of such national importance and with such prominent international standing is deeply appreciated. Please, therefore, accept my heartfelt thanks for this great honour. My current visit to Beijing is focused directly on two meetings. First, I am here to open and attend the fourth review meeting of the Ministers of Education of the E-9 high-population countries. This meeting, which the Government of China is generously hosting, is an opportunity for a diverse group of countries to meet, examine some common problems, share experiences and ideas, and decide upon the most urgent and important next steps in their separate and combined struggle towards achieving Education For All (EFA). The collective voice of China, India, Brazil, and the other six members of the E-9 Initiative is an influential one within the EFA movement. UNESCO acts to coordinate EFA partners and maintain their collective momentum in the follow-up to the World Education Forum in Dakar last year. In undertaking this role, UNESCO relies considerably upon the support, energy and commitment of the E-9 countries. The second meeting during my current visit to Beijing is the UNESCO Children s Performing Arts Festival in East Asia. This cultural initiative, which has been developed largely through the efforts of the National Commissions for UNESCO in the sub-region, is comprised of three days of artistic performances by children and young people. It is our hope that such cultural events will facilitate the building of contacts, friendship and better mutual understanding, thereby laying the foundation for closer relations between the peoples and countries of East Asia.
2 Exactly one year ago, I paid my first official visit to China in my capacity as the Director-General of UNESCO. During that visit, I had a very good meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Zhu Rongji. I also met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr. Tang Jiaxuan), the Minister of Education (Mrs. Chen Zhili), the Minister of Science and Technology (Mrs. Zhu Lilan), and the Minister of Culture (Mr. Sun Jiazheng). Through such visits, during which I discuss the programmes, projects and activities relating to UNESCO s main fields of competence, I am more and more convinced of the necessity to adopt an inter-disciplinary approach. I know of no major issue facing today s world that can be handled adequately in a traditional way, that is, by recourse to just one discipline or, for that matter, to several disciplines in majestic isolation from one another. Many difficulties arise from adopting an inter-disciplinary approach but the potential rewards, in terms of relevance, effectiveness and coherence, are enormous. Quite simply, real problems in society and culture, in science and technology, and in the economy do not respect the rigid disciplinary boundaries that were created at a particular historical juncture when knowledge lost its unity. In today s inter-connected world, the employment of inter-disciplinary approaches is imperative. Consequently, I feel especially proud to receive from Renmin University the award of this honorary degree, which covers all of the university s disciplines of study. During my current visit to Beijing, I will seek to develop stronger bilateral relations of various kinds. This includes separate meetings with the Ministers of Education attending the E-9 event as well as meetings with different Ministers of the Government of China responsible for matters falling within UNESCO s fields of competence. In addition to the Ministers of Education and Culture, I will meet with the Minister of Water Resources, a subject of particular interest within UNESCO s science portfolio. You may safely assume that, in these meetings, I shall advocate the merits of interdisciplinary approaches. Renmin University also figures within my schedule of bilateral meetings in regard to the arrangements for establishing a UNESCO Chair within the university. This chair will be devoted to copyright, a subject which is becoming increasingly important with the onward march of globalization, the growing activities and reach of the World Trade Organization, and the rapid advances in information and communication technology. The establishment of this chair will, I am sure, serve to stimulate further reflection and develop greater expertise concerning the role of
3 copyright within the circuits of trade, business and learning in the age of the Internet. UNESCO is very proud of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme, which has proven to be an effective and productive mechanism for inter-university networking at national, regional and international levels. It is particularly useful for generating and sustaining forms of South-South cooperation in higher education and research. Another aspect of UNESCO s international role that will figure in my visit is that of sports. Yesterday evening, I was delighted to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Universiad, the university student olympics being held here in Beijing. Through youth exchange and sport, the Universiad makes an important contribution to the promotion of international understanding and peace. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Beijing and China on the International Olympic Committee s decision to award the staging of the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing. This will be a unique occasion for China to show what it has achieved and what it is capable of achieving. It is my earnest hope that the Beijing Olympics will be a model of fair play and ethical conduct in all sports. As you know, UNESCO is the focal point for physical education and sports within the United Nations system, as was re-confirmed at MINEPS III (the Third International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials responsible for Physical Education and Sport), held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in November/December 1999. The MINEPS III Declaration placed great emphasis on the ethical values of sport and urged all countries, both developed and developing, to work together to promote the concept of fair play and combat unethical behaviour, including doping in sport. It is UNESCO s intention to develop a normative instrument in the area of doping in sport during the period ahead. Uniting the diverse features of my visit to Beijing is UNESCO s mission to promote peace and sustainable development through all of its fields of competence. Sadly, despite considerable progress in many aspects of human endeavour during the past fifty years, this mission remains stubbornly relevant because of the continuing conflicts and divisions besetting the world today. Meanwhile, the uneven distribution of the economic benefits and social costs of globalization are clearly evident, which has prompted UNESCO to commit itself to doing all it can to humanize the globalization process; this commitment indeed, furnishes the unifying theme of UNESCO s next Medium-Term Strategy (2002-2007).
4 Ladies and gentlemen, On the occasion of this award, I would like to use this timely opportunity to deliver my first speech as honorary professor! In doing so, I am conscious of taking two major risks. It might be said that a wise man is one who does not generalize about China; my first risk, therefore, is that I may reveal myself to be unwise. An even greater risk, perhaps, is that of talking about university matters to a university audience. The theme of my brief talk will be the challenges facing higher education in China today. In many respects, the challenges I shall mention are not unique to Chinese higher education, a sign that China s universities are far from insulated from global trends and developments. However, the precise character and implications of these challenges, and the options available for dealing with them, reflect the specific context of Chinese society and culture, the historical development of Chinese universities, and the distinctive policy environment that exists in China today. The first major challenge is that of rapid expansion. This process, which is already well advanced here, is being driven largely by a recognition that continued economic growth is dependent on the supply of increased numbers of skilled, qualified, well-educated personnel. Even in the absence of other challenges and trends, expansion itself calls into question the adequacy of existing forms of provision, methods of financing, management systems and quality assurance mechanisms. These considerations do not justify slowing down or halting the drive for expansion, but they highlight the need for expansion to be accompanied by appropriate adjustments and improvements. Moreover, expansion is not just a matter of total numbers. Key decisions must be made about where the rate of expansion is to be greatest; indeed, expansion for some may mean stagnation or contraction for others. Such decisions require, above all else, clarity about the goals and purposes of expansion. The second key challenge is the diversification of higher education. Diversification, of course, covers several processes: for example, the diversification of institutional forms, of the modalities for delivering higher education, and of sources of financing. New types of universities and
5 colleges have already appeared in China, and higher education authorities and institutions are adopting different strategies for raising finance, generating revenues, providing courses, structuring their internal organization, and undertaking research. It is particularly hazardous to generalize about diversification within the Chinese context: for example, the patterns evident in Guangdong will not be duplicated exactly in Sichuan or Shandong. What works best is likely to be influenced strongly by local factors. Nevertheless, it is important for Chinese higher education s experience of diversification to be continuously monitored and reviewed so that lessons may be learnt from both successful and unsuccessful initiatives. An abiding concern regarding diversification is that, in association with competition among universities and colleges, it will encourage disparities and inequalities affecting access, quality and status. This, perhaps, is the real challenge presented by diversification. The quality of higher education is the third major challenge. This is a complex matter. Expansion and diversification should not be seen as the enemies of quality, but they do present new problems and issues for which suitable responses must be devised. It is vital that extra resources (human and financial) are allocated to quality improvements at an early stage of expansion. In addition, mechanisms of quality control and assurance must be put in place in ways that are sensitive to the different missions and capacities of different kinds of higher education institutions. Competition within a market of higher education services may be expected to stimulate improvements in quality, but it is important for the strong to compete with the strong, not to prove themselves at the expense of institutions with fewer resources or another role. The fourth key challenge is presented by private sector growth and marketization. These processes, of course, are not identical but are often linked in practice. The growth of private sector interest and involvement in higher education is a global phenomenon. The marketization of higher education as a good or service is also reaching into university systems all over the world, abetted by forces ranging from the Internet to new rules concerning trade in services. In the context of China, these developments raise challenges for established patterns of provision, financing, governance, and regulation. China sometimes surprises the rest of the world through its approaches to private sector initiatives. In the field of higher education, such initiatives are sometimes closely linked to international capital investments but there are also local dynamics of enterprise which, for various reasons,
6 may not be categorized strictly as private or, at any rate, for-profit. What is clear is that private sector developments and marketization are not confined to distinctive types of non-public institutions. Consequently, this area generates interesting but difficult challenges in regard to partnerships, joint ventures, and diversified financing. The question of world-class research poses a fifth important challenge. The ambitions of China to accelerate its economic growth and to modernize its economy will require considerable investments in research and development. Other countries, of course, are not standing still but are, on the contrary, moving ahead rapidly in order to gain competitive advantage. It is imperative, therefore, that China strengthens its centres of research excellence so that they are equipped for this competitive challenge. The paradox, however, is that the strengthening of research is impossible without close collaboration with and openness to the best that the rest of the world can offer. This paradox presents a challenge to the openness of Chinese higher education and its capacity to accept a much freer interchange of ideas, persons and knowledge. The sixth major challenge is the balance between regulation and autonomy. The process of decentralization in Chinese higher education has already changed many of the relations between the central state, the local state and universities. It can be argued that China has moved from a state control model to a state supervision model ; in the latter, the state continues to play a strong or even a stronger role as regulator, monitor and coordinator but it is withdrawing more and more from direct funding, provision and delivery. Again, the situation is China is varied and complex. The role of provincial and local levels of government in the running of higher education institutions can be considerable. At the same time, some universities are acquiring levels of autonomy never before experienced in China. The case for greater institutional autonomy and self-governance is partly based on alternative models of university modernization and partly on the desirability of more dynamic, innovative and flexible approaches to university management. Shifts in the relationship between regulation and autonomy are difficult for many reasons, not least because they affect fundamental aspects of institutional culture and identity. The relationship between academic freedom and social responsibility constitutes the seventh main challenge facing Chinese higher education. All
7 societies need spaces where intellectual curiosity and creativity can flourish. The university provides one such space. In my view, academic freedom is necessary for the university s exercise of both intellectual responsibility and social responsibility; indeed, they are closely entwined. The university must fulfil its social responsibilities not only by producing fresh cohorts of qualified graduates for the economy but also through its capacity for critical thought and for deepening our knowledge and understanding of processes of social, cultural and technological transformation. The eighth and final challenge is how, in the face of all these changes and developments, China can preserve the sense of higher education as a public good. Along with science and culture, education has a special status as a public good by virtue of the general interest of society that it serves. While the principle governing access to basic education is that it is a fundamental human right, the guiding principle regarding access to higher education is merit and the capacity to benefit from higher level studies. The case for both basic education and higher education as a public good is that, over and above issues of entitlement, equity and benefits for individuals, they advance the general interest. Through their education of the most intelligent and talented young people of their generation and through advances in knowledge and learning, universities perform vital functions for their towns and regions and for the country as a whole. Many of these functions fulfil public needs which other institutions may be ill-equipped to meet. If universities become overtaken by a culture of private or personal calculation, a spirit of competitiveness, or the commercialization of knowledge, there is a serious risk that their responsibilities and functions regarding the public good will fall away. So also may the sense of an academic community committed to a vocation (the generation and sharing of knowledge) that offers more rewards than the marketplace ever can. Realistically, we know that universities must adapt to changing environments and demands but we must avoid paying too high a price. This is perhaps the greatest challenge we face. It is a challenge facing higher education institutions directly, especially how they define and then achieve their missions. It is also a challenge facing the public authorities in regard to the purposes of regulation: the protection and promotion of the public good functions of higher education must surely be high among the regulatory goals of the state.
8 The challenges outlined above will be both exciting and demanding for Chinese higher education. There are no easy answers to the questions and issues arising from these challenges. There are unprecedented opportunities to be seized, but there are also attendant risks. If the wrong decisions are taken, the costs will be high and will be felt for many years to come. UNESCO, with its long experience, its expertise and its networks of international exchange and collaboration, stands ready to assist in any way it can. We also take great interest in how China is approaching its challenges, for there may be important lessons that higher education systems and individual institutions in other countries may learn from China s experience. It remains for me to thank the Renmin University of China once again for the great honour it has bestowed upon me. This award of an honorary professorship is one that I deeply appreciate and will long treasure. Thank you.