HIGHER EDUCATION AS A
COMMODITY
How has higher education transformed into a commodity?
Despite the overall nature of education as a public good, in our society, the new trend is that
education is being treated as a marketable commodity. Since the introduction of neo-liberal
economic policies and globalization, the state has withdrawn from investing in higher
education and other welfare programs. These policies clearly favor and promote an increase
in the role of markets in higher education. Higher education is therefore treated as a
marketable commodity and has received great support from international organizations like
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Further, inclusion of education in
the negotiations under GATS and WTO, which are extensions of neo-liberal economic policies,
is found to be highly attractive to many universities and governments (J.B.J. Tilak, 2007).
Higher education as an internationally traded service is believed to produce an immense
amount of profit for the exporters of education, generating a lot of revenues for the
universities and reducing the government's allocation of budgetary resources. Even the best
universities in the world, like Oxford and Cambridge, are entering into the business of trading
their degrees to overseas students.
As a result of higher education becoming more and more private and charging higher fees, it
is the upper middle class and upper income groups of the population who can afford private
education more than the low-income groups, thereby increasing the gap between the rich
and the poor. It is to be noted that the acceptance of neo-liberal policies on public financing
of higher education and withdrawal of the state from higher education reduce the rates of
participation of socio-economically weaker sections of society in higher education, thereby
further accentuating inequalities in higher education (Tilak, 1997). In India, about 40% of
enrollment in higher education is accounted for by socio-economically weaker sections of
society (NSSO findings). The neo-liberals view higher educational institutions not as centers
of learning nor as important social institutions. They treat universities as knowledge factories.
For them, investment in higher education is not human capital but venture capital, i.e.,
marketization for promoting profits. For them, investing in universities is like investing in
share markets.
The cost of treating higher education as a commodity is more complex and dangerous. By
treating higher education as a commodity that can be brought and sold in domestic and
international markets, the public good character and social benefits of higher education may
disappear altogether. It becomes an instrument that serves an individual's narrow interests.
Commodification of higher education and more reliance on market forces seriously reduce
COMMODITY
How has higher education transformed into a commodity?
Despite the overall nature of education as a public good, in our society, the new trend is that
education is being treated as a marketable commodity. Since the introduction of neo-liberal
economic policies and globalization, the state has withdrawn from investing in higher
education and other welfare programs. These policies clearly favor and promote an increase
in the role of markets in higher education. Higher education is therefore treated as a
marketable commodity and has received great support from international organizations like
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Further, inclusion of education in
the negotiations under GATS and WTO, which are extensions of neo-liberal economic policies,
is found to be highly attractive to many universities and governments (J.B.J. Tilak, 2007).
Higher education as an internationally traded service is believed to produce an immense
amount of profit for the exporters of education, generating a lot of revenues for the
universities and reducing the government's allocation of budgetary resources. Even the best
universities in the world, like Oxford and Cambridge, are entering into the business of trading
their degrees to overseas students.
As a result of higher education becoming more and more private and charging higher fees, it
is the upper middle class and upper income groups of the population who can afford private
education more than the low-income groups, thereby increasing the gap between the rich
and the poor. It is to be noted that the acceptance of neo-liberal policies on public financing
of higher education and withdrawal of the state from higher education reduce the rates of
participation of socio-economically weaker sections of society in higher education, thereby
further accentuating inequalities in higher education (Tilak, 1997). In India, about 40% of
enrollment in higher education is accounted for by socio-economically weaker sections of
society (NSSO findings). The neo-liberals view higher educational institutions not as centers
of learning nor as important social institutions. They treat universities as knowledge factories.
For them, investment in higher education is not human capital but venture capital, i.e.,
marketization for promoting profits. For them, investing in universities is like investing in
share markets.
The cost of treating higher education as a commodity is more complex and dangerous. By
treating higher education as a commodity that can be brought and sold in domestic and
international markets, the public good character and social benefits of higher education may
disappear altogether. It becomes an instrument that serves an individual's narrow interests.
Commodification of higher education and more reliance on market forces seriously reduce
