| The brain drain (人才流失) is a universal
phenomenon, and countries that don't face up to the new reality will be losing
some of their most precious resources. The northeast of England is its poorest
region, and has experienced a severe loss of highly qualified
professionals-to-be. Some of the most able 18-year-olds are going to other parts
of Britain, even to other countries. What is happening here is happening to
Britain as a whole. Most noticeably, there is a growing trend of British
students' taking degrees in American universities. This year the number will
break the psychological barrier of 1 000 students for the first time. And what is happening at the secondary-school level is happening to higher education. Wherever they come from, today's students have a very different perspective on education from their parents. Because of television, the Internet and their own travels, these students see the world as a much smaller place than their parents once did. They are more confident in accepting the challenge of moving from one country to another, from one culture to another; in many eases they can even apply to schools over the Internet. Students are also more aware of the overall cost of education and are looking for value for money. Plus, for many, education linked to travel is a better option than education at home. In the context of student globe-trotters (周游世界者), as world-class British universities like Oxford suddenly find themselves fighting over British students with the Harvards of the world, they face major challenges. It is not simply that Harvard is a wealthier institution: Harvard University's endowment— $14.5 billion—is estimated to be ten times that of Oxford. Harvard also offers a radically different educational experience, stressing breadth of study and real-world applications of knowledge. Today, bound in by nearly a millennium of tradition and lacking sufficient financial help from the national government, Oxford cannot easily respond to the quickened global pace of educational change. Rightly or wrongly, Oxford in particular has been slow—or unwilling—to put the kind of emphasis other universities have on more business-friendly curricula (课程). Thus it has slipped behind universities like Cambridge and Harvard in the battle for resources that tend to go to more business-minded institutions. Education is an expensive business, but the consequences of a failure to educate—especially in an increasingly globalized world—are even more expensive. |