UNSW Asia chickens out

Several months agso, before coming over to perth:

A glowing sign at the 77 bus stop makes me take a second look at the advertisement. It is actually an advert promoting UNSW Asia as it unveils its Singapore campus. I dont think much of it because 1-they rejected my application, and 2- whats the diff b/w studying there and at SIM?

Yesterday night:

UNSW pulls out of Singapore. After a mere few months of fulltime school.

This case is a good example of the basis for which higher education in the world today functions- it is a commodity. Lets face it- international students pay much much more than locals do for tertiary education, be in in singapore or otherwise. There is a running joke, that 3/4 of a lecture theatre chair belongs to internationals, and that locals can only lay claim to 1/4 of it because that is the proportion of money that goes into it. Ok a bad joke.

One must look back and see then, the purpose behind it all. At the end of the day, universities function just like private companies- this is the way of the world, and they cannot be blamed for that. Who does not want to have a larger paycheck? It is only common sense. Therefore one way by which revenue can be brought in is accepting more international students. And if they can afford it, and are able to perform to a certain extent, why not?

Perks of having more international students:

1- "Diversity" - (highly overstated and in my opinion totally bullshit)
2- Income Contribution- (bigger paychecks, who dosent love them?)
3- Higher Standards of education- (to keep the locals on their toes- meaning locals have no chance at all of getting first class honours)

Sounds like a good deal, dosent it? Factor 2 is perhaps the most realistic of the three factors, and probably the most excusable. But 1 and 3?

2 is the main factor, the main motivation behind offshore ventures by universities, and the search for foreign talent to fill up places in universities. At the end of the day it all boils down to a single factor- the cash. As long as it brings money in, why not? This is a sad truth of how institutes of higher education operate, and this is prevalent all over the world. Except maybe the really top universities such as Harvard and Oxford.

It is sad to see how realistic the situation has become. Money is what drives education, and it has moved further and further away from the basic ideal, the basic reason for the existence of education- to nurture and teach students in the pursuit of higher learning. As for social issues such as the domination of foreign talent, who gives a shit? As long as the professors are happy with pay rises who actually gives a damn about the quality of grads that go into the workforce and whether they will contribute to a country's economy in the long run?

It's all about money. Period. Not making money, pull out. Just like investments, one pulls out when one cannot afford the element of risk.

Just like investments. NOT education, mind you, but investments. Education as an economic instrument. Not the ministry of education stepping in but the economic development board. Because it is what it is- a money tree in its entirety.