Consumerism In Education
In the past decade, there has been a massive boom in the globalization of commerce. As a
result people are no longer bound by their geographical boundaries and are more prone to
international movement. Specifically for students, this boom has brought forth an opportunity for
post secondary education. A number of organizations around the globe are working on this
concept in order to help such students achieve their goals. It is worth mentioning here that such
activities are helping masses to improve their educational statuses.
For the developed countries, post secondary education is an important element of life and
a majority is prone towards achieving the same. This means that growing student populations are
seeking admission in post secondary education systems. As a result, there is an increased
pressure on educational institutes to accommodate all the students and also a consequent increase
in competition among universities to attract only the best candidates. Today, top rated
universities have based their admission and selection on stringent criteria in order to maintain the
perception of high profile alumni. For the universities, a better alumnus translates into increased
chances of private funding. To give a perspective, a number of educational institutes based in
England are now increasing their chances of private funding by enrolling greater number of
international students. In addition, exporting university programs are increasingly being adopted
in collaboration with developing nations in order to achieve the same goals. As a result
consumerism is on a rise in the education world.
A number of students who enter such institutes are full of expectations that the same will
yield positive outcomes and will help them gain good jobs in the highly competitive market.
While a number of people argue that universities who treat their students as consumers are in fact
allowing them a glimpse of the practical world, the truth is that too many of the students who
enroll in such institutes are not aware of the career choices that they wish to make. These
students have limited or no knowledge of the current market and thus can hardly be classified as
aware consumers. In fact it can safely be assumed that consumerism in education acts to distance
a student from the sole purpose and motive behind education. These students are simply
enrolled; however the level of engagement is no more than that of a paid employment. Today,
higher education is no more a matter of acquisition of knowledge through patient exploration but
rather a game of finances.
The same therefore cannot be classified as educational improvement. Consumerism in
education today is simply a means through which degrees are awarded to the students
irrespective of the quality of effort that they put in. As a result, the quality of the graduates is
reducing. In a nutshell, lower standards are making it much more difficult for students to gain
good jobs. This negates the basic benefits of globalization. It is therefore high time that the
educational institutes recognize whether students can be given the responsibilities of a
responsible consumer of education or not.
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Consumerism In Education