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Strong appeal to ratify Global Convention at UNESCO World Higher Education Conference
On 18 May 2022, UNESCO held a high-level session on the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education at the World Higher Education Conference 2022 to renew momentum around the treaty and facilitate country efforts to both ratify and operationalize it. “The Global Convention – adopted by UNESCO Member States in November 2019 – represents the first United Nations treaty in higher education of global scope”, said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini as she opened the meeting.
The Convention is designed to facilitate academic mobility and promote the right of individuals to have their higher qualifications evaluated through a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner between regions. This session comes more than two years since the world entered the largest educational disruption in history, which has reinforced the importance of inter-university cooperation and cross-border research in leading the recovery and resilience of societies, while higher education has been evolving dramatically.
Rise in enrolment and international academic mobility
Over the past two decades, enrolments have doubled to reach 235 million students, while international student mobility has tripled to 6 million. These numbers are once again expected to double in the next decade, placing recognition and mobility at the top of education policy agendas.
The event featured Ministers and high-level delegates of the State Parties, as well as voices from students, universities, and industry. All panelists called on countries to ratify the Convention while highlighting its benefits.
“Where the Convention is ratified, it promotes unity and collaboration among institutions and countries. It also encourages high quality of education, and it makes learning and education a global good that can be assessed by the private sector, national organizations, and the global community,” explained Mr. Olusola Bandele Oyewole, Secretary General of the African Association of Universities.
In addition, the Convention is an important tool for building connected higher education ecosystems and fostering collaboration between all stakeholders. “We want to create synergies when it comes to higher education teaching and learning, and this Convention has opened up space to create strong bonds between our countries in the area of higher education,” claimed Mr. Walter Baluja García, Primary Vice-Minister of Higher Education in Cuba.
At the same time, distance learning and other forms of cross-border higher education are contributing to a rise in virtual academic mobility, with all the challenges that new forms of provision present for regulators and quality assurance. “Yet, the principles of recognition of qualifications vary among different regions creating all kinds of challenges for the members of the higher education community,” remarked Mr. Rimvydas Petrauskas, President of the Lithuanian University Rectors' Conference and Rector of Vilnius University.
Addressing challenges of qualifications recognition
A key challenge is the recognition of qualifications obtained through online provision, requiring quality assurance agencies and internal processes to define standards and principles for “good practice” in e-learning, e-assessments, and other areas. The Global Convention goes a long way in this sense with its provisions on non-traditional learning modes and the “recognition of partial studies and prior learning, and that is a step into the future,” commented Ms. Ligia Deca, Presidential Adviser on Education and Research in Romania. Ms. Ligia Deca also explained that “when we ratified the Convention, we saw the benefits almost immediately. Besides facilitating international cooperation, it also addresses another important issue that is the recognition of qualifications of refugees”.
Inclusion is a key imperative, and the Global Convention pays particular attention to the recognition of partial studies and qualifications held by refugees and displaced persons. This not only facilitates access to higher education – which stands at less than 5% for refugee youth – but also into the labour market and integration into host communities. Ms. Aisha Khurram, Lead Researcher, Local Engagement Refugee Research Network & Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, concurred with this analysis, urging all Member States to ratify the Convention, and to “rethink refugees, not as passive and vulnerable victims, but as people with potential, capacities, and aspirations”.
The Convention aims to strengthen research cooperation by facilitating international exchanges of students, teachers, researchers and jobseekers. Mr. Muamar Husni Shtaiwi, Head of the Accreditation and Quality Authority, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Palestine, explained that “the Convention constitutes a broad gate that will lead to the transfer of knowledge of skills among the States Parties”.
In closing the session, Ms. Giannini reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to support Member States in the ratification process. “Every country needs investment in higher education to build their future. By joining the Global Convention, countries commit to raising the quality of higher education at home and worldwide, strengthening international cooperation and helping make academic mobility and the recognition of qualifications a reality for millions”, she emphasized.
To date, 15 countries have joined forces to transform the higher education landscape by ratifying the Global Convention, including Sweden, the latest to ratify the Convention during the WHEC 2022, thereby committing to be bound by it. Meanwhile, over 20 countries are well advanced in the ratification process, paving the way for its entry into force in the coming months.