37 Asian nations to push for higher edu

Nagpur: Thirty-seven Asian countries, all members of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN), are collaborating to improve the quality of higher education and make it inclusive for as many people as possible, said its president Jianxin Zhang on Friday.
“There may be some conflicts between nations but we need to look beyond that. People from various countries talk about improving higher education through such conferences is extremely important for developing nations,” said Zhang at an international conference held at a city hotel.

Zhang said that APQN has made suggestions to the governments of various Asian nations to improve quality of higher education. She said Asian nations, mainly India and China, are developing at a very high speed which makes accessibility to university level education for their youth equally important.

“We have various programmes through which universities in different countries can collaborate to create new and specialized courses,” she said.

“The education system in India and China is similar. Both nations have equal number of shortcomings in their respective systems. This is something we aim to change in order to be at par with education imparted in the western countries. In fact, we aim that the Asian nations surpass them in terms of quality,” said Zhang.

She conceded that the rural population in many Asian countries is deprived of higher education due to lack of resources. “We are also in talk with universities to make education more inclusive. APQN had held a conference in Kunming, China, where students and teachers from rural parts of Yunnan Province spoke on accessibility to higher education,” she said.

The conference was organized jointly by Shivaji Science College and Dhanwate National College under the aegis of Shri Shivaji Education Society. President of the society Harshwardhan Deshmukh was present.

“Higher education has to be the top priority in our country. In the current era of misinformation, ignorance poses a grave threat to the mankind. The purpose of higher education is to bring competent people and make good use of their talent,” said Deshmukh.

“Quality education will bridge the gap between cultures and create a better understanding among them,” he added.