Artículo escrito conjuntamente por Lauritz B. Holm-Nielsen, José Joaquín Brunner, Jorge Balán, Kristian Thorn and Gregory Elacqua para la UNESCO, el año 2004.
While much has been achieved, Latin America still has a long way to go in supplying advanced skills. Most importantly, the region faces significant new trends in the global environment. These include increased global competition, the emergence of a worldwide market for talent and a growing importance of knowledge as a source of value. In this new dynamic environment, there is a critical need for people with higher-order skills able to perform independent analysis, process complex information, and use acquired knowledge to innovate.
Palabras claves: tertiary education reforms access, financing, quality, relevance, management
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At the beginning of the 21st century, the fundamental challenge in LAC countries is to accommodate increases in demand for tertiary education in circumstances of severe resource constraints. In parallel with increases in supply, opportunities for a more heterogeneous student body must be provided. This calls for greater diversification of programs, teaching methods and curriculum. Little is achieved if expansion comes at the cost of adverse effects on other equally important educational goals. For that reason, key objectives such as quality, relevance and equity, as well as effective management and financial infrastructure, must be at the forefront of reforms. Finally, tertiary institutions have an important role to play in contributing to innovation systems by carrying out state of-the-art research and providing skilled researchers.
The following sections will explore the extent to which LAC is prepared to meet these challenges. The focus is on recent trends, the current status and the need for further tertiary education reforms. Section 2 highlights approaches to the expansion of tertiary education. Against this backdrop, the next section focuses on how tertiary education is financed in Latin America. Section 4 moves into the content of education by discussing the quality and relevance of tertiary education. This is followed by a section on inequities in higher education. Section 6 presents trends in the management of tertiary education and the final section takes a broad look at internationalization and the contribution of post-secondary education to national innovation systems. The conclusion summarizes strengths and weaknesses of tertiary education in Latin America and points to future challenges and opportunities.