On 17 November 2021, ASEF participated in the World Access to Higher Education Day (WAHED) Conference 2021 on the theme of ‘Who will be going to university in 2030?’. With over 1000 delegates WAHED is the World’s biggest online conference focused on access, equity and Student Success. 2021 is the 4th year of this initiative – the international day to raise global awareness around inequalities in access and success in higher education.
Research produced related to WAHED has also shown that across the world commitment to addressing inequalities in access and success exists. A recently published study by ASEF shows that in 47 countries higher education equity features in government-produced higher education policy documents. You can read more about the . The impact of university programmes does need to be better assessed and government commitment has to translate into action and awareness of inequalities in access and success, including activities to address them.
ASEF’s Education Department Director, Ms Leonie NAGARAJAN, was invited to speak on a panel titled ‘What do Governments Need to do’. Other panellists included Roberta Malee Bassett (Global Lead for Tertiary Education and Senior Education Specialist, PhD, World Bank), Ninoslav Scukanec Schmidt (Executive Director, Institute for the Development of Education & Co-Chair Bologna Follow Up Group on the Social Dimension) & William Moses (Managing Director, Education, The Kresge Foundation).
ASEF has supported WAHED for the past 4 years, including the organisation of a Capacity Building Training on Equitable Access to Higher Education in Edinburgh in 2019 and the WAHED Asia Conference in 2020.