Introduction
Globalisation, an increasing consciousness of the globe as 'one world', is a logical consequence of the developments in information technology. The information revolution of the present modem era, like two other earlier landmarks in human history i.e. agricultural revolution and industrial revolution, has a tremendous influence on all walks of our social life including the pursuit of education. The communication technologies have made it possible to compress the space-time dimension and help in breaking the barriers of national and regional boundaries. This has resulted in the emergence of a set of new learning environments particularly in distance education which is mostly mediated by new technologies. By the use of satellite communication and computer technologies it is increasingly becoming possible for distance education institutions around the world to reach any individual or location situated anywhere in the world. This facility has resulted in the greater opportunities for international cooperation
and competition. The impact of this process is context specific as it opens up alternative possibilities of access and invasion (Terry Evans, 1995). To put it rhetorically for emphasis, the globalisation process may open up alternative possibilities to "globalise and grow" or "globalise and perish". The scope of this paper is to explore the opportunities for educational development and the new challenges faced by distance education institutions in developing countries in general, and India in particular, in the context of globalisation process. The awareness of the strengths and the limitations of the process enables us to equip properly to face the new challenges. The opportunities, the challenges and the desirable response to globalisation of distance education are discussed in the subsequent sections of this paper.
2. The Opportunities
Globalisation of distance education provides many opportunities for developing countries for the realisation of the systemic goals of which the following are crucial:
A. More Access
The MBA programmes offered by institutions in America, Canada, Australia, Britain etc. are now available in most parts of the developing countries. This is true of many other programmes offered by developed countries which are available in many developing countries. The learners in developing countries have access to education and training programmes offered by many developed countries. The 'foreign degrees', can be acquired now without the learners going to foreign countries. Many developing countries with limited educational resources can have wider access to the world educational and training resources to supplement and complement their efforts to provide education to large numbers. The satellite technologies are extensively used by developed countries to beam their educational programmes to remote areas in countries like India. There are more responses to the market demands to meet the educational and training needs in technical and professional areas like management, computer applications, education,
multi-media etc. The list of foreign institutions offering distance education programmes in India is very large, varied and impressive. This has certainly resulted in widening the access to foreign education to people in India.
B. Learning From Others Experience
The instant connectivity of resource persons and the easy accessibility of resource materials in distance education made possible by the communication technologies, help in learning from others expertise and experience. The different methods adopted by distance education institutions in the development, production and delivery of materials is easily available to others through database systems. The information technology has made the distance education processes and the products more open enabling others to use and build on the existing knowledge and practices. Globalisation in this sense further facilitates the process of learning from others' experiences.
C. Partnerships for Enrichment
The saying "Two is better than one" is as true in distance education as in many other areas. The partnership arrangements between the players located in different countries, make it possible again through technologies, and can contribute to providing services which are beyond the capacity of any one institution. The partnership in developing the distance education materials in certain areas of global concerns like environment, gender equality, human rights etc., will certainly complement the expertise and resources and facilitating the production of better learning materials. The partnership between the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), Canada and Indira Gandhi National Open University, India in offering the Masters Programme in Distance Education (MADE) under the Rajiv Gandhi Fellowship scheme is one such example of international partnership activity facilitated by the process of globalisation. The European Union activities in the promotion of distance education are also influenced by a wider processes of g
lobalisation (John Field, 1995). The educational needs of small developing countries can be met effectively by the partnership arrangements particularly in the development of leaming materials which is a very capital intensive activity in distance education.
D. Competitive Environment
The wider access also may result in heightening the competitive environment. For example, as mentioned earlier, some of the world's best management and computer programmes developed in certain advanced countries are available to many in other countries, including the developing ones. This, it is hoped, will ignite the spirit of competition among the local institutions. The breaking up of boarders [sic] by technology may threaten the survivial [sic] of mediocre institutions/programmes. The exposure to the best may motivate others to improve their own performance. The free market may reject the non-performers. The globalised distance education programmes of institutions with a spirit of performance, may bring competitiveness in the working of local distance education institutions. This
process may result in better institutional performance.
3. The Challenges
The globalisation of distance education should be approached from the perspectives of its impact on the developing countries who are mostly at the receiving end. Some of the challenges and dilemmas faced by these countries are:
A. Globalisation and Neo-Colonialism
In situation of uneven development the information superhighways may be used more for 'invasion' than for access. More access may result in the danger of certain sets of countries dominating the educational scene of countries with less resources. Terry Evans rightly observes that "globalisation presents nations with a dilemma: they access the world, but the world invades them" (Terry Evans, 1995). The access is also driven by market demands, which need not necessarily reflect the national needs of countries at the receiving end. Added to this the access to global programmes, is mostly restricted to more affluent sections of society in view of the costs involved. This may further accentuate the educational inequalities in developing countries. In the highly differentiated world, the virtual world has not shrunk uniformly. So the access also is not uniform within a country and among the countries. To some of the countries in the developed world globalisation may only mean liberal access to the markets of dev
eloping nations. The unequal competition may result in small fish being swallowed by big fish. Those of us who feel exited about information superhighways, should also be aware of limitations of the use of superhighways in developing countries since so far it has been mostly a one way traffic highway—from developed countries to developing countries. The partnership arrangements may result in assigning a secondary role to institutions for the developing countries loosing [sic] their initiative and self identity. These fears persuade many to consider globalisation as another form of neo-colonialism.
B. Globalisation Versus Localisation
The paradox of globalisation is that it is also accompanied by a strong urge for localisation (John Field, 1995). The development of distance education materials programmes for the world may be an impossible task. At present the materials developed in one context are mostly used in a wider context. Developing relevant curriculum for the international context is a difficult task. More difficult is getting the educational materials developed in a particular cultural context to suit a different cultural context. The generic materials in distance education which may be global in nature may have to be supplemented by national/region specific materials to make the global distance education programmes more relevant. This is also one of the lessons offered by the experience of IGNOU in offering the MADE programme internationally. Localisation also emphasises the importance of bringing cultural sensitivities into global materials. Learning is a cultural activity, after all. The globalised learning materials and the
delivery systems should take into account the diversity of the world cultural context. The learners' needs may also vary accordingly (Janet Jenkins, 1996). Even though it is said that a global distance educator should "think globally and act locally", we can also observe a contradictory trend operating here "thinking locally and acting globally". Developing the materials/programmes keeping in view one's own context, and offering the programmes internationally more to cash in on the market demands is what we mean by "thinking locally and acting globally".
C. Global Vision Versus Market Vision
Globalisation should have a vision of using global resources for human development. Globalisation will then, help in entering into collaborative arrangements for pooling of world resources to realise the shared vision of 'one world'. The alternative possibility is that the globalisation process may be taken advantage of by the more resource endowed countries to create and exploit the market demands in developing countries for profit making. This profit making drive of collaborative arrangements may distort the social priorities of education. In this situation the international partnership arrangements will be driven more by profit motives, favouring developed countries and allowing a few visits to foreign lands by 'educationists' of developing countries. The partnership arrangements in an unfair competitive situation may not bring any substantial benefits to learners in developing countries.
D. Infrastructural Deficiencies
Even though the information superhighways provide opportunities of global transfer of knowledge, the developing countries are not yet properly equiped [sic] with necessary exportable goods (knowledge) and vehicles (technology) to use the superhighways. The outdated telecom facilities, high costs of connection, low levels of technological awareness and bureaucratic interference in using the technology may inhibit the countries like India to actively participate in the global provision of distance education programmes. The inability to use modem communication systems and resultant delay in communication is one of the problems faced by IGNOU in operationalising one of its international programmes in developing countries.
4. The Response
Globalisation is of course, a reality of the modem world. The flow of information across the world is now effectively beyond the control of national governments. We cannot wish away the trends of globalisation in distance education on the pleas of neo-colonialism, cultural sensitivity, lack of social relevance etc. The critique in the earlier sections of this paper should be viewed more in the perspective of self understanding of limitations in order to overcome them. We may have to properly equip developing countries to live with globalisation with honour and purpose. Some of the measures which may help in this direction are:
A. Selective Approach
The international collaborative arrangements should be based on national priorities as identified by appropriate authorities at the national level. In defining the rules of competition, the nation concerned should use its privilege of regulation to protect its national interest. The selective approach should also emphasise more on accessability [sic] and transfer of know-how of distance education than on materials and programmes. This would strengthens the self sustainability of institutions in developing countries.
B. Value Addition
The local institutions, as partners in the international collaboration, can play an effective and critical role only when they are capable of making value addition to the process. This value addition should take care of localisation of materials and services, adaptation of materials, sensitisation of the processes to the local cultures etc. This type of contribution will neutralise the possible dominence [sic] of resource rich outside agencies.
C. State Intervention
The nation state may have to actively intervene to rninimise the distortions of globalisation processes. The state should subsidise and support the learners from the weaker sections of society to use the opportunities of global distance education programmes. The state can also play an important role in building the necessary information technology infrasturcture for enabling the distance education institutions in developing countries to participate as equal partners in global distance education programmes.
D. Role of International Agencies
The international agencies like COL, Asian Development Bank, UNESCO, World Bank etc. can play a very important level playing role in the promotion of globalisation of distance education. The international agencies can strengthen the competencies of distance education institutions in the developing countries to cooperate and collaborate with institutions in the developed countries on equal terms. The COL is making efforts in this direction by building databank on reliable and comprehensive information on distance education, Commonwealth Credit Bank for transfer of programmer and credits etc. (Gajaraj Dhanarajan, 1996). The other international agencies also should develop norms and guidelines for global distance education programmes to ensure the elimination of unfair competitive practices.
5. Concluding Remarks
It is not enough if we merely log on to world trends; we must also build the capacities to do so on our terms. This is the common and basic challenge faced by developing countries in the globalisation of distance education particularly in the context of uneven world development. Globalisation as in other fields, in the field of distance education is also not an unmied [sic] blessing. There are opportunities and limitations. The Mahatama Gandhi's dictum that let all the windows be open and the wind blow from all the directions, but one should not loose one's feet firmly rooted in one's own soil should guide the approach of distance education institutions in the developing countries responding to the globalisation processes.
References
1. Gajaraj Dhanarajan, Response to Tony Pritchard, Open Praxis, Volume 1, 1996.
2. Janet Jenkins, Response to Tony Pritchard, Open Praxis, Volume 1, 1996.
3. John Field, Globalisation, consumption and the leaming business, Distance Education, Volume 16 No. 2, 1995.
4. K.B. Pawar, Information Technology and Higher Education: The Indian Context, Universities News, November 25, 1996.
5. Kiran Karnik, Emerging Communication Scenario, Mainstream, August 24, 1996.
6. Richard Edwards, Different discourses, discourses of difference: Globalisation, distance education and open leaming, Distance Education, Volume 16, No. 2, 1995.
7. Richard Edwards, From a Distance? Globalisation, space-time, compression and distance education, Open Learning, Nov. 1994.
8. Terry Evans, Globalisation, post-Fordism and open and distance education, Distance Education, Volume 16, No. 2, 1995.
9. Tony Pritchard, Globalisation of distance learning, Open Praxis, Volume 1, 1996.
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