Opinion | Is today’s education system fit for purpose in a world splitting into rival blocs?
- Geopolitics and security pressures will increasingly determine the future of resources allocated to education, research and development, and technology
- With China and others challenging America’s lead, Western universities could start rejecting foreign students in security-sensitive areas such as science
Education is the most controversial of subjects. Parents quarrel about their children’s quality of education; societies are deeply divided on education as it defines the future. Can our education system cope with a more complex, fractious future, fraught with possible wars?
According to Stanford University’s “Guide to Reimagining Higher Education”, 96 per cent of university chief academic officers think their students are ready for the workforce, but only 11 per cent of business leaders agree.
As technology accelerates in speed and complexity, education quality becomes more important than ever. Is it for the elites or the masses? Aristotle recognised that the aim of education is knowledge, but there were always differing views about whether to prioritise individual enrichment or preparing the individual to fulfil society’s needs.
Feudal systems hardly paid attention to the masses, and most ancient institutes of higher learning were for the elite, either for religious orders or to prepare for civil or military service.
The American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a conservative think tank, has just produced a fascinating study on the implications of higher education for national security. Covering 1950-2040, the study acknowledged that the US attained its uncontested power status because it had the highest levels of educational attainment and manpower.