金山大学校长:国际化招生正“削弱发展中国家的实力”

金山大学校长亚当·哈比卜(Adam Habib)表示,大学应当“更关注国际化带来的后果”

二月 12, 2020
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南非一位大学校长认为,海外高校从发展中国家招收学生的行为“削弱了”生源国的发展,他呼吁“重新构想国际伙伴关系”。

金山大学(University of the Witwatersrand)校长亚当·哈比卜(Adam Habib)表示,过去40年来,西方高等教育的国际化模式侧重于“向发展中国家的优秀学生提供奖学金”,而这“产生了违反常理的恶果”。

“大多数英国大学表示,学校培育留学生让他们能够回到自己的国家。但学校在撒谎。因为他们所做的是向个人提供奖学金,这改变了学生的人生,而85%的人并没有回去,基本上这些国家没有变得更好。”他在访问英国期间对泰晤士高等教育如是说。

因此,哈比卜教授认为,这些大学“越是接受优秀学生,就越加速了生源地的人才外流。然后,人才加速外流,就削弱了发展中国家高等教育机构的实力,从而影响这些国家的发展前景。”

哈比卜教授说,采取这种招生方法,金山大学与英国、美国的大学一样难辞其咎。

“金山大学对(非洲)大陆其他国家深感内疚,就像你们对世界其他地区一样。这是一个全球性问题。”他说。

哈比卜教授说,解决方法不是让大学“放弃构建国际伙伴关系”,而是“重新思考”国际化路径并“重新构想国际伙伴关系”。

他说:“与其提供奖学金,不如直接提供[资金]给院校。当你把钱给学校时,你应该做的是提供双学位、分区奖学金[学生在本国和国外都学习],以及跨机构攻读博士学位等机会。”

“但为了做到这一点,我需要英国、美国等国家的校长们打破思维枷锁,减少对收支表的专注,而更关注他们所扬言努力培养的发展成果。在我看来,这就是历史挑战,而这正是我们应该关心的。”

哈卜比教授举了两个例子,一个是2015年创建的非洲研究大学联盟(African Research Universities Alliance),旨在扩大和提高非洲研究人员在非洲开展研究的项目质量,还有一个是英国研究与创新署(UK Research and Innovation)为金山大学提供的2000万英镑援助,来促进分区奖学金的实践。

海牙应用科技大学(Hague University of Applied Sciences)包容性教育的讲师阿米纳塔·开罗(Aminata Cairo)表示,她赞同各个大学都把国际化的重点放在了“如何使自身获益”这一点上。但她补充称,“问题不仅出自招生的机构”,因为就业机会等因素也导致了人才外流。

“要转变成一种更道德的模式,既要为生源国考虑,又包含真正的互利伙伴关系,这是一项艰巨的任务,” 她说,“它需要经过深思熟虑的协作和规划。”

ellie.bothwell@timeshighereducation.com

本文由陈露为泰晤士高等教育翻译。

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Reader's comments (4)

One of many Chinese policies that endear it to developing countries is educating their students for free and requiring them to return to their home countries upon graduation. Interestingly, this policy was born during the Cultural Revolution, to stem the brain drain from the poorer hinterland and was, as we now see, successful.
I was born and grew up in Mexico. I graduated from the National University (UNAM), and then went abroad to pursue a graduate degree. Or two. Most of us leave hoping to acquire skills to go back and get a job where we can employ them. Why am I still in North America and not back in Mexico? Because I would never be able to do my job there. And I am not the only one. We miss our family, our roots, but there are no jobs back home. Appointments and promotions depend on who you know, not what you do. We don't go back because there is nothing to go back to.
Foreign studies is actually a great thing. It gives people the chance to migrate to another country for a better life not offered in their country of birth-- especially if they come from a poor background and cannot afford to move out.
Although this being said, universities and other schools must accept responsibility for advising international students about their rights and privileges as foreign students. This includes explaining to them the local customs of what local people do that is regarded as acceptable behaviour. Institutes that accept international students must also protect local students against accusations from foreign students to keep foreign students in line with local customs to ensure everyone is treated fairly.