世界高等教育宣言

1WORLDDECLARATIONONHIGHEREDUCATIONFORTHETWENTY-FIRSTCENTURY:VISIONANDACTIONANDFRAMEWORKFORPRIORITYACTIONFORCHANGEANDDEVELOPMENTINHIGHEREDUCATIONadoptedbytheWORLDCONFERENCEONHIGHEREDUCATIONHigherEducationintheTwenty-FirstCentury:VisionandAction9October1998WORLDDECLARATIONONHIGHEREDUCATIONFORTHETWENTY-FIRSTCENTURY:VISIONANDACTIONPREAMBLEOntheeveofanewcentury,thereisanunprecedenteddemandforandagreatdiversificationinhighereducation,aswellasanincreasedawarenessofitsvitalimportanceforsocioculturalandeconomicdevelopment,andforbuildingthefuture,forwhichtheyoungergenerationswill2needtobeequippedwithnewskills,knowledgeandideals.Highereducationincludes‘alltypesofstudies,trainingortrainingforresearchatthepost-secondarylevel,providedbyuniversitiesorothereducationalestablishmentsthatareapprovedasinstitutionsofhighereducationbythecompetentStateauthorities’.Everywherehighereducationisfacedwithgreatchallengesanddifficultiesrelatedtofinancing,equityofconditionsataccessintoandduringthecourseofstudies,improvedstaffdevelopment,skills-basedtraining,enhancementandpreservationofqualityinteaching,researchandservices,relevanceofprogrammes,employabilityofgraduates,establishmentofefficientco-operationagreementsandequitableaccesstothebenefitsofinternationalco-operation.Atthesametime,highereducationisbeingchallengedbynewopportunitiesrelatingtotechnologiesthatareimprovingthewaysinwhichknowledgecanbeproduced,managed,disseminated,accessedandcontrolled.Equitableaccesstothesetechnologiesshouldbeensuredatalllevelsofeducationsystems.Thesecondhalfofthiscenturywillgodowninthehistoryofhighereducationastheperiodofitsmostspectacularexpansion:anoversixfoldincreaseinstudentenrolmentsworldwide,from13millionin1960to82millionin1995.Butitisalsotheperiodwhichhasseenthegapbetweenindustriallydeveloped,thedevelopingcountriesandinparticulartheleastdevelopedcountrieswithregardtoaccessandresourcesforhigherlearningandresearch,alreadyenormous,becomingevenwider.Ithasalsobeenaperiodofincreasedsocio-economicstratificationandgreaterdifferenceineducationalopportunitywithincountries,includinginsomeofthemostdevelopedandwealthiestnations.Withoutadequatehighereducationandresearchinstitutionsprovidingacriticalmassofskilledandeducatedpeople,nocountrycanensuregenuineendogenousandsustainabledevelopmentand,inparticular,developingcountriesandleastdevelopedcountriescannotreducethegapseparatingthemfromtheindustriallydevelopedones.Sharingknowledge,internationalco-operationandnewtechnologiescanoffernewopportunitiestoreducethisgap.Highereducationhasgivenampleproofofitsviabilityoverthecenturiesandofitsabilitytochangeandtoinducechangeandprogressinsociety.Owingtothescopeandpaceofchange,societyhasbecomeincreasinglyknowledge-basedsothathigherlearningandresearchnowactasessentialcomponentsofcultural,socio-economicandenvironmentallysustainabledevelopmentofindividuals,communitiesandnations.Highereducationitselfisconfrontedthereforewithformidablechallengesandmustproceedtothemostradicalchangeandrenewalithaseverbeenrequiredtoundertake,sothatoursociety,whichiscurrentlyundergoingaprofoundcrisisofvalues,cantranscendmereeconomicconsiderationsandincorporatedeeperdimensionsofmoralityandspirituality.Itiswiththeaimofprovidingsolutionstothesechallengesandofsettinginmotionaprocessofin-depthreforminhighereducationworldwidethatUNESCOhasconvenedaWorldConferenceonHigherEducationintheTwenty-FirstCentury:VisionandAction.InpreparationfortheConference,UNESCOissued,in1995,itsPolicyPaperforChangeandDevelopmentinHigherEducation.Fiveregionalconsultations(Havana,November1996;Dakar,April1997;Tokyo,July1997;Palermo,September1997;andBeirut,March1998)weresubsequentlyheld.TheDeclarationsandPlansofActionadoptedbythem,eachpreservingitsownspecificity,aredulytakenintoaccountinthepresentDeclaration-asisthewholeprocessofreflectionundertakenbythepreparationoftheWorldConference-andareannexedtoit.3We,participantsintheWorldConferenceonHigherEducation,assembledatUNESCOHeadquartersinParis,from5to9October1998,RecallingtheprinciplesoftheCharteroftheUnitedNations,theUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,theInternationalCovenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRights,andtheInternationalCovenantonCivilandPoliticalRights,RecallingalsotheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRightswhichstatesinArticle26,paragraph1,that‘Everyonehastherighttoeducation’andthat‘highereducationshallbeequallyaccessibletoallonthebasisofmerit’,andendorsingthebasicprinciplesoftheConventionagainstDiscriminationinEducation(1960),which,byArticle4,commitstheStatesPartiestoitto‘makehighereducationequallyaccessibletoallonthebasisofindividualcapacity’,Takingintoaccounttherecommendationsconcerninghighereducationofmajorcommissionsandconferences,interalia,theInternationalCommissiononEducationfortheTwenty-FirstCentury,theWorldCommissiononCultureandDevelopment,the44thand45thsessionsoftheInternationalConferenceonEducation(Geneva,1994and1996),thedecisionstakenatthe27thand29thsessionsofUNESCO’sGeneralConference,inparticularregardingtheRecommendationconcerningtheStatusofHigher-EducationTeachingPersonn