The modernisation of higher education in Mexico: Social Dynamics and Policies

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The modernisation of higher education in Mexico
Social Dynamics and Policies

• Rollin Kent
• Visiting Professor
• Erasmus Mundus
• UiO

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• Themes
• Demographics the force of numbers
• Economic shifts and shocks
• Expansion of higher education the processes and
  policies
• Some paradoxes and emerging issues

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1. The force of numbers
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Demographic growth in Mexico in the 20th century
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The evolving demographic growth rate
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2. Economic shifts and shocks the roller coaster
economy and chronic low growth
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• The Mexican Miracle, 1946-1982 protectionist,
  state-led growth of 6 or more
• The long debt crisis, 1982-1989 stagflation,
  freeze on public spending, political conflict
• The neoliberal shift NAFTA 1989 the present
• Privatization, liberalization abrupt exposure to
  international competition
• Some industry has responded
• Small scale agriculture was hit hard
• And the 1994-96 peso devaluation set growth back
  several years

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• Today the low growth - inequality trap
• Mediocre performance (3 - 4 growth)
• Limited labor market growth
• Increasing income gap
• Massive emigration to the US
• Monopolistic economic structure
• NAFTAs advantages are eroding in the face of
  more competitive emerging economies (China,
  India)
• Ineffective democratization we have democracy
  but what good does it do?

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3. Expansion of higher education the chief
processes
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The 1970s early 1980s

• Rapid, unplanned enrollment expansion
• Improvised growth of the academic profession
• Bureaucratization and politicization
• Low institutional differentiation massification
  of public universities

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The crisis of the 1980s

• Freeze on public funding (salaries,
  infrastructure, maintenance, research)
• Expansion of private H.E.
• Brain drain
• Profound shift in the cultural climate
• Ferocious critique of unregulated public sector
  expansion
• Privatization is good equitable, efficient,
  provides choice, flexible, relevant)

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Modernization of H.E. 1990 to the present

• Focus on quality (as opposed to growth)
• Restriction on access to public universities
• Institutional differentiation
• New public two and four year technical institutes
  in outlying regions
• Lax regulation of private sector expansion
• Evaluation accreditation
• More diversified contract funding, although
  political budget negotiation is still the rule
• Strategic planning since 2001
• Focus on excellence in research
• Rapid expansion of graduate education

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4. Some paradoxes and new issues
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• Vast unregulated private sector issues of
  quality, price and equity
• Inequitable growth poor students from low
  quality preparatory schools end up paying for bad
  private H E
• New controls for autonomous public universities
  more rigidity but also deeper institutionalization
  in the face of a turbulent environment.
• A challenge institution-wide coordination in the
  face of varying internal responses to
  modernization
• Considerable expansion of the science system but
  poor RD performance, as measured by current
  indicators

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• New growth pressures in the offing expansion of
  unregulated low quality preparatory education
• Fiscal squeeze increasing demands on public
  resources (pensions, policing security, health)
  but very low rate of fiscal collection (12 of
  GDP)
• Policy is continuously overwhelmed by society
  strong society, weak state?