SELECTION FOR UNIVERSITY STUDIES AND ECONOMIC COMPETITIVITY

Abstract

Citing statistics from a recent OECD report on education, the author offers some generalizations with regard to the ways in which increasing economic competition will influence the functioning and the course programmes of higher education. Operations will have to become increasingly efficient, and course programmes, increasingly targeted towards the fulfillment of economic goals. Enrollments will have to expand to respond to the demand for highly trained manpower, the technical, economics, and management fields being particularly important. Counselling will play an increasingly crucial role in assuring that students make the best choices and withstand the rigours of what will be a tougher university life. Although European universities and course programmes are converging, a certain variety and the retaining of distinct cultural traditions will also be a source of competitivity.