Regional harmonization of higher education: a global perspective

While the pace and details of harmonization initiatives differ between regions, the European Higher Education Area is often taken as a prime example to follow. Regional harmonization offers opportunities, but there are also challenges.

Global trends

In Europe, a European Higher Education Area is being created, in which national higher education systems are harmonized to encourage international mobility of students and staff. Following this development, governments in Latin America, East Africa, West Africa, and South-East Asia are discussing or forming similar regional 'higher education areas' with comparable degrees, harmonization of national qualification structures, and student and staff exchanges.

In Latin America, initiatives for regional higher education collaboration and integration are undertaken as part of the 'external co-operation programme' of the European Union. In May 2010, the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education initiated a programme to create a Latin American and Caribbean Higher Education Area with student and staff exchange and co-operation in the area of quality assurance. In West Africa, the West African Monetary and Economic Union (WAMEU), which includes 15 nations, signed an agreement to promote intraregional student mobility by giving students from other WAMEU states equal access to higher education.

Perhaps the clearest example of higher education harmonization in Africa is found in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, the French-speaking countries of the Maghreb. Through close consultation, the three countries are realigning their tertiary education systems with the European Bachelor-Master-Doctoral structure and the Bologna-inspired French qualifications framework. These nations have opted for the European 'Bologna model' because of their strong ties to Europe's (particularly French) universities and labour markets.

Discussion phase

Other regions are still in the discussion phase. Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and Rwanda have been debating (since 2003) the potential creation of an East African Higher Education Area, in which university credits can be accumulated in different countries and degrees are mutually recognized. In East Africa, the development and implementation of such a framework will likely be successful as the region already has a history of higher education collaboration and as higher education co-ordination strategies appear to become integrated within the region’s broader development plan.

Ministers of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries are also considering the establishment of their own higher education area, as is the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have already launched a pilot project to promote student mobility in South-East Asia.

Challenges

These moves towards regional harmonization involve considerable challenges related to the compatibility of higher education structures, qualification frameworks, curriculum reform, quality assurance standards and mutual recognition of academic degrees. A possible SEAMEO harmonization of higher education is not expected to be realized soon, for instance, since there are such large differences between countries in these areas. In Europe, these difficulties have already been substantial, and they are likely to be even greater in developing nations, which have relatively little financial resources available and whose higher education systems (due to a legacy of colonialism) are still being modernized themselves.

Paradoxically perhaps, the European Higher Education Area itself may present a challenge to higher education co-operation within Africa because it increases Europe's appeal as a study destination for African students. In addition, the fact that Bologna policy makers are working to increase the appeal of the European Higher Education Area to partners from outside the area might cause universities and policy makers in Africa to continue looking to familiar collaborative partners in Europe, rather than working toward the greater challenge of developing African collaboration. Increased regional higher education co-ordination and collaboration within Africa may contribute to reduce the continent's 'brain drain' – a problem that may be more difficult to solve when African universities only develop dual degree programmes with European universities, which give African students more opportunities to find employment in Europe rather than at home.

Implications of regional harmonization?

It will be interesting to see to what extent the harmonization trend will continue, and which models different regions will develop. After all, the European model may not be directly suitable for implementation in other regions in the world.

Regional harmonization will likely encourage intra-regional student and faculty mobility, a trend that already appears to have started. Greater mobility offers new opportunities for international academic collaboration, which may contribute to mutual understanding and peace keeping, as well as human capital development and regional economic growth.

In some ways, higher education areas will compete with each other in the global knowledge economy. At the same time, they are also likely to continue to collaborate, since many policy problems today are global problems that require global solutions, reached co-operatively at a global level.