LOW- AND MIDDLE-income countries like the Philippines can boost economic growth and global competitiveness by spending more to make sure skills of students will contribute to development and to hone the research capacity of higher education institutions, said a World Bank report covering East Asia that was released on Thursday.
“It is very important for lower- and middle-income countries in East Asia to invest in higher education because higher education can provide the skills and the research they need to become more productive,” Emanuela di Gropello, lead author of the report, said in a podcast, dated Oct. 11.
The report, titled “Putting Higher Education to Work: Skills and Research for Growth in East Asia,” said skills and research are key to increasing technological capacity and productivity.
Dividing the region into three technology clusters “based on the skill and technological intensity of their products and exports,” the report placed the Philippines in the middle income-middle technology cluster together with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia and Thailand.
Subdividing the middle cluster, however, the report put the Philippines in the lower third together with Indonesia, falling behind Malaysia and Thailand in the middle sub-cluster and China in the upper sub-cluster.
Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong make up the high income-top technology cluster, while Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam were grouped in the low income-low technology cluster.
Mongolia was the only middle-income country classified in the low-technology cluster.
“Middle-income countries should focus on both further developing the skills of their labor force and fostering research through higher education as a research provider,” the report read.
To advance to the top technology cluster, it said countries in the middle cluster should “move from being countries of assemblers and processors to countries of innovators with high technological capability in manufacturing and to introduce new technologies in their service (and agriculture) sectors.”
It explained that the Philippines and Indonesia, for instance, should develop “the technological and engineering capacity of workers” and build “some research capacity for technology upgrading in a couple of universities.”
“The Philippines has made impressive gains in expanding access to higher education. Demand for tertiary graduates continues to grow,” Chiyo Kanda, World Bank acting country director, said in a statement. “To sharpen the country’s technological edge and achieve higher productivity, the Philippines will have to address several skills gaps in its work force.”
The same statement quoted Ms. di Gropello as saying: “Quality research enables universities to produce ideas for the business community and contribute to technology upgrading in firms, generating knowledge and technological innovation.”
To address gaps in skills and research capacity, the report recommended that the governments increase funding for higher education and improve their management, as well as provide an environment that fosters greater cooperation between higher education institutions and industries.
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By: A. E. Barrameda
Source: Business World, Oct. 13, 2011
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