Return of the ivory tower?

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Learning Curve: Perspective
New Sunday Times - February 10, 2016

LEAN times, such as the current situation, are the best times for institutions of higher learning to further shed their ivory tower image in tandem with the “new” world view of higher education in general.

Tertiary institutions need to be more relevant to the needs and wants of the community and humanity as a whole.

Ivory tower, as applied to educational institutions, implies a disconnect in the requirements of the day as perceived by the current demand to create a sustainable world.

Before the era of mass education, the metaphor may be in sync with the trend of being “elitist” and “exclusive” as institutions of higher learning pursue the goal of engaging with a select few in advancing their social status and mobility. But the ivory tower status symbol has lost its lustre since education is now considered a basic right and no longer the privilege of a few.

Unfortunately, the ivory tower image is making a comeback as universities begin a “fight” for prestige and reputation as one of their strategies to bolster their standing globally.

Many pursue a business model that uses the ivory tower strategy to be more visible and marketable as competition becomes more intense and global.

The comprehensive documentary Ivory Tower — a CNN Films presentation that premiered in 2014 — speaks volumes about the subject and the ivory tower getting another lease of life.

Produced by Emmy-nominated filmmakers Andrew Rossi and Kate Novack, the narrative portrays the situation in the United States today, often the “benchmark” that we are asked to focus on.

The themes are generally familiar but, put together, they give a larger perspective that calls for concern as to the direction of higher education in the future.

This, in part, is spurred by the race to outdo one another in providing the “best” that is claimed to be part and parcel of “education” as students become “customers” and the “customer is king” as the market axiom goes.

Therefore, as never before, the “race” includes housing the “best” tanning facilities, lounges as well as condo-living with in-built ambience for partying and entertainment at a high cost.

One of the interviewees, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, said: “… people imitate other people without reflecting why are they doing it… ”, adding that “something has gone very wrong in the last decade”.

Underpinning all these, the documentary points out that “the national (US) student loan debt surpasses US$1 trillion (RM4.14 trillion) (allegedly greater than the credit-card debt) and that the price of college has increased more than any other good or service, such as food or healthcare, since 1973”.

How this relates to the ethos of education is the question that the viewers are left to mull over at the end of the mind-boggling expose.

The documentary also makes reference to the manner in which cost is inflated by adding administrative structures with the accompanying requirements of space and personnel, at the expense of academic needs.

In many cases, learning institutions experienced cuts, with positions “frozen” at the faculty and academic levels despite obvious dire consequences to the “quality” of overall education.

To top it all, there tends to be a concentration of power at the centre which is reminiscent of the days of the ivory tower.

In the long run, such posturing is deemed to be unsustainable and could ultimately threaten academic freedom and erode institutional autonomy.

For a country such as Malaysia, this is a retrogressive step in meeting the notion of 21st century education.

Instead of knee-jerk reactions to reduce training or capacity-building in the interest of saving costs, the converse is often the case.

There is evidence that argues for greater investments in education during tough times so as to take advantage of the lean period to create “new” knowledge that will enhance competitiveness through training and research.

Bearing in mind that institutional strategic planning is often medium- to long-term in duration, training and capacity-building can be phased out to reap the benefits in a timely manner.

It is even better if such activities can further promote innovation as well as creativity and improve productivity through relevant investments.

All these can go a long way to avoid being an ivory tower once again under the pretext of saving costs that subtly undermines higher education as an inalienable right. The key to this is, of course, the right leadership mindset.