A matter of relevance
Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - 25-3-2012
SHIFTING GEARS: Central to the issues discussed at the recent Fifth World Islamic Economic Forum was the question of relevance
THE Fifth World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) Round-table conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh last week was aimed at strengthening regional cooperation in South Asia with respect to three issues, namely address climate change, alleviate poverty and ensure quality higher education.
The event, designed as an extension of the WIEF Annual Forum, provided an avenue for regional and local business leaders to leverage existing business and economic strength. WIEF Foundation chair Tun Musa Hitam said this has proved to be successful in defining key steps to transform a common vision.
Previous round-table sessions were held in Bahrain, Turkey, Russia and more recently South Africa.
The underlying common thread linking the three problems discussed in Dhaka centered on the issue of relevance to the region.
In the case of climate change, countries such as Bangladesh and many others in the Global South are much more vulnerable to the impact of global warming.
This is related to development which must take into consideration approaches to mitigation and adaptation in an attempt to minimise the overall impact of climate change.
Development must be relevant to national and regional needs and not expose the population to the adverse consequences of global warming.
Similarly, the alleviation of poverty calls for suitable approaches to microcredit schemes, in particular, through Islamic microfinance institutions.
This is to further ensure affordability and access, with the eventual outcome of sustainable livelihood. In short, the schemes are not burdensome for borrowers.
There is a need to provide a fair deal to create equitable means of alternative sources of capital.
Again, it is about aiding the people who are in need of such financial assistance.
The question of relevance is even more pertinent when it comes to the third matter: ensuring quality higher education.
Since it is in the context of creating world-class private tertiary institutions, it brings the issue of relevance into sharp focus.
But what does “world-class” mean to a country that has a different set of national priorities to address?
Quality higher education is the deployment of resources to offer relevant solutions. Would creating the so-called “world-class institutions” benchmarked against that of a country with a different set of priorities be applicable?
The subject of academic relevance is a question that can no longer be glossed over. Gone are the days when the university knows best and can get away with giving little attention to the needs and interests of students.
This was demonstrated when some 70 students recently walked out of an introductory Economics course at Harvard University to show their disapproval, as explained in their open letter to their professor: “A legitimate academic study of Economics must include a critical discussion of both the benefits and flaws of different economic simplifying models.
“As your class does not include primary sources and rarely features articles from academic journals, we have very little access to alternative approaches to economics.
“... Harvard graduates play major roles in the financial institutions and in shaping public policy around the world. If Harvard fails to equip its students with a broad and critical understanding of Economics, their actions are likely to harm the global financial system. The last five years of economic turmoil have been proof enough of this.”
Reportedly, their criticisms are that the Economics taught in the class “failed to prevent the financial crisis and does nothing to narrow the gap between rich and poor”.
This is despite the professor claiming that the topic for the day was income distribution and the growing gap between the top one per cent and the bottom 99 per cent.
It seems that the students would like a diverse course that includes exposure to more progressive economic frameworks.
While the merits of the protest are still being debated, the issue of economic inequality has made a profound impact on the minds of many. And disparities are increasing at an unprecedented rate.
Even the latest British Social Attitudes Survey seems to indicate that a majority believe that the gap between the rich and the poor is too wide.
More are pointing to the issue of relevance in dealing with such matters as people become more sensitive to the precarious one-size-fits-all model in addressing widening imbalances nationally and globally.
This means more recognition needs to be given to values, local knowledge and learning experiences in ensuring that the issue of relevance is being properly addressed.
Musa said: “We also need to shift gears very quickly and move faster, agility is critical to our collective success.” Here is where relevance becomes a vital factor to the majority.
Linking this shift in gears to rising inequality, the Harvard walkout and the Occupy movement that is gaining credence makes us mindful that, for a long time, relevance has been the dictates of the marketplace, industry in particular.
This cannot be the case any longer. Round-tables such the WIEF allow businesses, entrepreneurs, policy and decision makers, strategists, financial institutions and educators to meet and collectively look for solutions that best fit their unique situations and become even more relevant.
- The writer is the vice-chancellor of the Albukhary International University