There are many issues and concerns associated with modern day higher education both in developed and developing countries. With the kind of investments developed countries have managed, higher education in those countries is considered better than the higher education in developing countries.

Higher education is linked with the development of the individual and the society as a whole. That is the reason why many developed countries have tried to link higher education with workplace opportunities. The examples of American community colleges and the link of post secondary education with apprenticeship in Germany are worth considering. To help graduates to find jobs in the market has been the major concerns of higher education institutions today. Many educational programs in professional field have also been growing in this regard. Moreover, higher education once received can not serve the purpose for ever. The rapidly changing technology and the competitive job market always challenge higher education graduates to update their knowledge and skills. The implications of these can be clearly seen in the design and implementation of various forms of education beyond the bachelor’s degree.

One can see attractive packages of certificate programs and short term courses for those who have higher education degrees. Other pertinent example to this can also be taken from the corporate houses which are spending billions of dollars to keep abreast their employee with the new knowledge and technology. This has serious implications on higher education to change its curricula in the line of both advance skills and life-long learning. The life long learning part has been considered in most of the developed nations whereas the developing nations, although realizing this, concentrate more on advance skills alone. There are many reasons behind this mainly financial position of the university. Poor countries like Nepal have hardly been spending any money for the use of technological advancement in higher education.

Equally developing concerns of higher education in the poor countries is its internationalization. In the name of internationalization many higher education institutions have forgotten skills and knowledge needed for their own soil. This means there should be a balance made between national priorities and international flavor in higher education. Universities in the developed countries have made another balance of advanced level of teaching and research activities; however, the developing countries have not yet been able to provide ample emphasis on research in higher education. Without the balance between the two the graduates of poor countries will always lag behind the developed countries. Access to higher education must be linked with access to research.

Concern for higher education access is growing these days. Even if developing countries like China and India have not been able to enroll more than 5 percent of the higher education age group the demand for mass higher education is increasing. The same applies to Nepal where around 7 percent of the age group have enrolled in higher education. The concept of higher education for the elites has been changed to mass higher education or higher education for all in the 21st century.

In the name of providing more access to higher education many countries these days have been establishing private higher education systems. Some countries in Europe like Finland have started promoting privatization of higher education in the recent years where all level of education is totally cost-free for students. This is because the government can no longer fund the total expense as needed by the universities. This has made education a commodity and the students customers. Many developed countries have also started privatizing higher education. In Nepal also there are more than a dozen universities in the pipeline waiting approval for private universities.

The other concern of higher education these days is the equity issue where the poor can have no opportunities in participation in higher education. Social class, women, and ethnicity have been the focus of social activists in this regard. Privatization and/or higher fees in public universities have been contradictory to the slogan of equity in higher education. With the growth of privatization, professorate has been neglected or replaced by part-time/visiting teachers. The student-teacher-ratio (STR) has been far neglected because the private institutions want to make more profit by spending less.

Funding higher education has been a global concern. Cuts in higher education can be seen in highly developed countries. Developing countries mostly depend upon the government for this kind of funding. In some instances the World Bank has shown interest in improving higher education in the developing countries, but the question is how long it can if the developing countries do not have any means to prioritize higher education for many decades to come.

Dr. Wagley is an educationist