Access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) is growing
steadily but “knowledge divide” persists leading to poverty,
marginalisation and exclusion.
Speaking at the Wawasan Open University (WOU) public talk on “E-Learning: The Future of Universities in the 21st Century” at the main campus, Dr Abdul Waheed Khan talked about the link between economic divide, digital divide and knowledge divide.
Speaking at the Wawasan Open University (WOU) public talk on “E-Learning: The Future of Universities in the 21st Century” at the main campus, Dr Abdul Waheed Khan talked about the link between economic divide, digital divide and knowledge divide.
“We are now entering a knowledge society where the application of ICTs
multiplies brain power, just like the industrial society when machines
multiplied muscle power,” he said.
He expects the digital and knowledge divide between the economically poor and the more advanced countries to get worse in the future unless there is policy intervention to bridge the gap.
Noting the remarkable progress of South Korea compared to the US, he stated that South Korea was on par with Zimbabwe and Zambia 20 years ago but it is what it is now because of policy intervention.
He expects the digital and knowledge divide between the economically poor and the more advanced countries to get worse in the future unless there is policy intervention to bridge the gap.
Noting the remarkable progress of South Korea compared to the US, he stated that South Korea was on par with Zimbabwe and Zambia 20 years ago but it is what it is now because of policy intervention.
Dr Khan shared that the four elements to building a knowledge society
are knowledge creation (e.g. R&D); knowledge preservation (through
archives, libraries, etc); knowledge sharing (through media and other
mode); and knowledge utilisation.
“If you see developed countries and the percentage of investment in R&D and the economic progress… Korea and Finland have the highest GDP per capita in R&D. If you have not invested in R&D, you can’t expect society to benefit from the research and innovation.” he quipped.
Dr Khan also spoke on the dominance of the English Language in higher education and its role in the ranking of universities internationally.
He said many providers of higher education have gone abroad or globally to recruit students due to the economic opportunities. He said the knowledge-economy requires k-workers, so more and more people want access to higher education and embrace lifelong learning to upgrade skills and knowledge.
He said an estimated 70 Asian institutions currently offer open distance learning (ODL) programmes to over 6 million students, adding however that “ODL is still in its infancy in newly-transitioned economies like Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Vietnam”.
On the issue of quality assurance, he said ODL suffers from some image problem and if quality assurance is not put into place, then it would have an adverse effect in the long-run.
“If you see developed countries and the percentage of investment in R&D and the economic progress… Korea and Finland have the highest GDP per capita in R&D. If you have not invested in R&D, you can’t expect society to benefit from the research and innovation.” he quipped.
Dr Khan also spoke on the dominance of the English Language in higher education and its role in the ranking of universities internationally.
He said many providers of higher education have gone abroad or globally to recruit students due to the economic opportunities. He said the knowledge-economy requires k-workers, so more and more people want access to higher education and embrace lifelong learning to upgrade skills and knowledge.
He said an estimated 70 Asian institutions currently offer open distance learning (ODL) programmes to over 6 million students, adding however that “ODL is still in its infancy in newly-transitioned economies like Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, and Vietnam”.
On the issue of quality assurance, he said ODL suffers from some image problem and if quality assurance is not put into place, then it would have an adverse effect in the long-run.
The speaker Dr Khan is currently the President of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Business University and a member of WOU’s International Advisory Board. He was formerly the Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information at UNESCO, Paris.
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