Hossam Badrawi Official Website
The philosophy of the existence of universities What are the purposes for higher education in any nation? .. And what do we ask of him and him? .. We might think that things are clear in everyone’s minds, and they are different, even in the minds of some specialists.
The easiest of these imagined images is what falls in the minds of parents and students. They see the graduate of higher education with a better social position, and that his certificate qualifies the holder for this position, and they see higher education as superior to other types of education, and that there is even a psychological division within it, and they see the university graduate as superior. than a graduate of the institute, and that a graduate of the institute is superior to a graduate of technical education..and so on.
These families also see that the state, throughout its modern history, requires a higher education certificate to be appointed to its important jobs, and that this education qualifies its students to fill jobs, especially if the certificates of higher education are excellent, which is represented by the top colleges as the community called them .. Or that the certificate in itself is a permit. Social passage regardless of the knowledge or skills to be gained from this education. I cannot deny these images in the minds of their owners, because they are derived from the reality in which they live, and their repeated experiences through it.
Some think that education has to meet the temporary needs of the market, and this is a short and narrow-minded perception, because higher education has many other benefits, which are gathered in being the locomotive of development in any society.. It is education that does not come as a response to the state of the labor market, or unemployment rates, or A profession is one of the professions at a specific time.. but it is this type of education that draws the features of the future, and builds people who are capable of making development and not filling the void of needs.. It also builds the person who makes the opportunity and achieves it, not only the beneficiary of it.
Few of the intellectuals see the enlightening role of universities and institutions of higher education, and they raise a fundamental question: Are universities just educational service providers, or are they builders of modernity and builders of civilization?!.
I propose ten specific policies stemming from Egypt’s 2030 vision for the development of higher education, and the philosophy of universities’ existence and their functions, so that the policies are consistent with the philosophy of establishing universities.
It assumes that everywhere the university tries to meet four goals, namely: well-being; and order; meaning; And the truth.. Hence, these goals collectively represent: the philosophy of the establishment and existence of these universities.
The university focuses on the well-being of society by preparing its students for constructive integration within society through the acquisition of knowledge and skills that constitute a tool for progress and development, or by developing its research and innovation field to enhance the economic strength of the nation.
The aim is to meet social needs effectively and economically. Therefore, the utilitarian goal of the investments directed by governments and concerned parties to their universities becomes justified, as there is a tangible and measurable return on individuals and on society.
As for the social system, the university helps society to be a “harmonious society” in which different groups exchange references and make science, knowledge and technical skills appropriate and appropriate. This requires developing skills and knowledge areas related to civic integration and using them in teaching and adapting them to current social needs. As well as higher education determines the “qualifications” of people, and higher education certificates and higher studies of all kinds become the passport for these people to pass to prestigious positions with appropriate salaries located on the various levels of the social ladder. Universities are the most important source for organizing higher qualifications.
In the issue of meaning, the university deals with the postulates of life as defined by society. It examines the different viewpoints of all issues, old and new, reconsiders the stable and accepted intellectual references, and reorganizes the data according to the new standards, whether they are intellectual, ethical or aesthetic. The enrichment of meaning lies in a comprehensive and complete familiarity with this knowledge and the different viewpoints, skepticism about postulates, and the reorganization of the world as we know it in this light. This results in the university’s ability to point to possible reforms in society, which is the basis for any civilizational shift undertaken by nations.
When addressing the issue of the search for truth, the university explores the unknown as the natural order of which humanity is a part. The aim of this is not only an attempt to demolish the walls of ignorance, but also a deep question about the extent of man’s understanding of the surrounding universe.
The stages of this effort converge with the method of scientific reasoning that universities should follow in studying the various sciences, which includes skepticism. and imagination; And assimilation..a process that is sometimes tainted by risks, as it may lead us to error and failure, which are accepted by science as long as it is carried out with the method of scientific reasoning and proof, but the search for truth remains an essential entrance to the university’s function.
■ University privacy:
Universities are built on two axes: one shifts from a focus on immediate existence (welfare needs) to a new reality (the call to search for truth) and the other moves from opposition (the critical aspect) to approval (the aspect of commitment and the institution’s contribution to social productivity). Efforts to achieve consistency between these functions always lead to a search for unity of purpose as shown in the word uni-versitas itself.
The process of modernization is the function entrusted to universities in all societies. In order for us to define modernity and understand its implications for social change and scientific development, universities – as one of the necessary institutions of the nation and a building block for cultural development – should survey the environment in which they arise, and realize the complexities of potential change, and this means academic freedom. Universities must set their vision for their commitments towards this transformation, and determine how their assets will be used in the best possible way, and this means institutional independence. In practice, the foregoing means identifying strategies that lead to the development of institutional policies that can be tested, measured, and verified, and this requires accountability.
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The easiest of these imagined images is what falls in the minds of parents and students. They see the graduate of higher education with a better social position, and that his certificate qualifies the holder for this position, and they see higher education as superior to other types of education, and that there is even a psychological division within it, and they see the university graduate as superior. than a graduate of the institute, and that a graduate of the institute is superior to a graduate of technical education..and so on.
These families also see that the state, throughout its modern history, requires a higher education certificate to be appointed to its important jobs, and that this education qualifies its students to fill jobs, especially if the certificates of higher education are excellent, which is represented by the top colleges as the community called them .. Or that the certificate in itself is a permit. Social passage regardless of the knowledge or skills to be gained from this education. I cannot deny these images in the minds of their owners, because they are derived from the reality in which they live, and their repeated experiences through it.
Some think that education has to meet the temporary needs of the market, and this is a short and narrow-minded perception, because higher education has many other benefits, which are gathered in being the locomotive of development in any society.. It is education that does not come as a response to the state of the labor market, or unemployment rates, or A profession is one of the professions at a specific time.. but it is this type of education that draws the features of the future, and builds people who are capable of making development and not filling the void of needs.. It also builds the person who makes the opportunity and achieves it, not only the beneficiary of it.
Few of the intellectuals see the enlightening role of universities and institutions of higher education, and they raise a fundamental question: Are universities just educational service providers, or are they builders of modernity and builders of civilization?!.
I propose ten specific policies stemming from Egypt’s 2030 vision for the development of higher education, and the philosophy of universities’ existence and their functions, so that the policies are consistent with the philosophy of establishing universities.
It assumes that everywhere the university tries to meet four goals, namely: well-being; and order; meaning; And the truth.. Hence, these goals collectively represent: the philosophy of the establishment and existence of these universities.
The university focuses on the well-being of society by preparing its students for constructive integration within society through the acquisition of knowledge and skills that constitute a tool for progress and development, or by developing its research and innovation field to enhance the economic strength of the nation.
The aim is to meet social needs effectively and economically. Therefore, the utilitarian goal of the investments directed by governments and concerned parties to their universities becomes justified, as there is a tangible and measurable return on individuals and on society.
As for the social system, the university helps society to be a “harmonious society” in which different groups exchange references and make science, knowledge and technical skills appropriate and appropriate. This requires developing skills and knowledge areas related to civic integration and using them in teaching and adapting them to current social needs. As well as higher education determines the “qualifications” of people, and higher education certificates and higher studies of all kinds become the passport for these people to pass to prestigious positions with appropriate salaries located on the various levels of the social ladder. Universities are the most important source for organizing higher qualifications.
In the issue of meaning, the university deals with the postulates of life as defined by society. It examines the different viewpoints of all issues, old and new, reconsiders the stable and accepted intellectual references, and reorganizes the data according to the new standards, whether they are intellectual, ethical or aesthetic. The enrichment of meaning lies in a comprehensive and complete familiarity with this knowledge and the different viewpoints, skepticism about postulates, and the reorganization of the world as we know it in this light. This results in the university’s ability to point to possible reforms in society, which is the basis for any civilizational shift undertaken by nations.
When addressing the issue of the search for truth, the university explores the unknown as the natural order of which humanity is a part. The aim of this is not only an attempt to demolish the walls of ignorance, but also a deep question about the extent of man’s understanding of the surrounding universe.
The stages of this effort converge with the method of scientific reasoning that universities should follow in studying the various sciences, which includes skepticism. and imagination; And assimilation..a process that is sometimes tainted by risks, as it may lead us to error and failure, which are accepted by science as long as it is carried out with the method of scientific reasoning and proof, but the search for truth remains an essential entrance to the university’s function.
■ University privacy:
Universities are built on two axes: one shifts from a focus on immediate existence (welfare needs) to a new reality (the call to search for truth) and the other moves from opposition (the critical aspect) to approval (the aspect of commitment and the institution’s contribution to social productivity). Efforts to achieve consistency between these functions always lead to a search for unity of purpose as shown in the word uni-versitas itself.
The process of modernization is the function entrusted to universities in all societies. In order for us to define modernity and understand its implications for social change and scientific development, universities – as one of the necessary institutions of the nation and a building block for cultural development – should survey the environment in which they arise, and realize the complexities of potential change, and this means academic freedom. Universities must set their vision for their commitments towards this transformation, and determine how their assets will be used in the best possible way, and this means institutional independence. In practice, the foregoing means identifying strategies that lead to the development of institutional policies that can be tested, measured, and verified, and this requires accountability.
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As for the ten policies for development, they are summarized in the following:
First: Reframing the state’s responsibilities towards the higher education system in its universities and institutes.
Second: Expanding the higher education system to meet the needs of new students according to a specific and declared vision that includes technical education and vocational training.
Third: A radical reorganization of educational institutions with the aim of improving quality and reaching the international levels we choose.
Fourth: Developing a multi- and flexible system that conforms to development needs, communicates and is open to international movements concerned with improving and modernizing global and local teaching and research methods.
Fifth: A massive and integrated move as a basis for placing scientific research and its activities as a life component in higher education institutions.
Sixth: Developing the dynamic relationship between higher education institutions and the Egyptian, Arab and European labor market.
Seventh: Commitment to academic and institutional integrity, and consolidating this in the mission of each educational institution, to reflect the values of honesty, accountability and responsibility as basic values, as well as respect for academic honesty and freedom, in addition to respect for equal opportunities and pluralism.
Eighth: Integrating technology and digital culture into the consciousness of students and faculty members, with a clear priority that does not allow for regression. And work on expanding interactive distance learning and blended learning. It is necessary to allow the establishment and expansion of specialized and independent institutions for distance education within the framework of international quality guarantees.
Ninth: The governance of higher education institutions’ management and the efficiency of their organization.
Tenth: Developing a climate for higher education through sports, arts, teamwork, and community communication to build a healthy person with the skills of the twenty-first century, and a global competitor.
I would like to end my article with a quote from Dr. Taha Hussein, who inspired me to read his book “The Future of Culture in Egypt,” where the doctor says more than eighty years ago:
“The university does not consist of the world alone, but rather the educated and civilized man is formed in it, who is not sufficient for him to be educated, but rather means for him to be a source of culture, and it is not sufficient for him to be civilized, but rather it means for him to be a promoter of civilization. The two qualities, it is not a creation of a university, rather it is a humble school among the humble schools, and how many of them are!, and it is not a creation of being the shining light for the country in which it is established, and the humanity for which it works, but rather it is a factory of factories, which prepares for humanity a group of working men, limited Their hopes are limited in their ability to do good and reform.”
First: Reframing the state’s responsibilities towards the higher education system in its universities and institutes.
Second: Expanding the higher education system to meet the needs of new students according to a specific and declared vision that includes technical education and vocational training.
Third: A radical reorganization of educational institutions with the aim of improving quality and reaching the international levels we choose.
Fourth: Developing a multi- and flexible system that conforms to development needs, communicates and is open to international movements concerned with improving and modernizing global and local teaching and research methods.
Fifth: A massive and integrated move as a basis for placing scientific research and its activities as a life component in higher education institutions.
Sixth: Developing the dynamic relationship between higher education institutions and the Egyptian, Arab and European labor market.
Seventh: Commitment to academic and institutional integrity, and consolidating this in the mission of each educational institution, to reflect the values of honesty, accountability and responsibility as basic values, as well as respect for academic honesty and freedom, in addition to respect for equal opportunities and pluralism.
Eighth: Integrating technology and digital culture into the consciousness of students and faculty members, with a clear priority that does not allow for regression. And work on expanding interactive distance learning and blended learning. It is necessary to allow the establishment and expansion of specialized and independent institutions for distance education within the framework of international quality guarantees.
Ninth: The governance of higher education institutions’ management and the efficiency of their organization.
Tenth: Developing a climate for higher education through sports, arts, teamwork, and community communication to build a healthy person with the skills of the twenty-first century, and a global competitor.
I would like to end my article with a quote from Dr. Taha Hussein, who inspired me to read his book “The Future of Culture in Egypt,” where the doctor says more than eighty years ago:
“The university does not consist of the world alone, but rather the educated and civilized man is formed in it, who is not sufficient for him to be educated, but rather means for him to be a source of culture, and it is not sufficient for him to be civilized, but rather it means for him to be a promoter of civilization. The two qualities, it is not a creation of a university, rather it is a humble school among the humble schools, and how many of them are!, and it is not a creation of being the shining light for the country in which it is established, and the humanity for which it works, but rather it is a factory of factories, which prepares for humanity a group of working men, limited Their hopes are limited in their ability to do good and reform.”
