Higher Education and Intellectual Retrogression: The Neoliberal Reign [Paperback]

PART I 1. Evolution of Notions, Aims, Functions of Higher Education 2. Build-Up of Ideational Foundation of Neo-Liberal Reign in HE 3. Towards Mass HE and Academic Capitalism 4. Affirmative Action in HE: Costly Boost to Massification? PART II 5. Declining Academic Standard of HE and Making of an Intellectual Retrogression 6. Neoliberal HE in the Developing World: Indian Illustration 7. Conclusion: Blunders in Progress. Bibliography.

This monograph critically analyses the historical evolution of ideas, perceptions and principles on higher education and unravels a few of its interlinked aspects  content, quality, standard, massification, privatization and commercialization. It presents both original and penetrative critique of neoliberal ideas and policies reigning higher education since World War II. The volume argues that with the proliferation of academic capitalism the academic quality of higher education has been inevitably compromised and it has thereby heralded a comprehensive intellectual retrogression. The book offers a meticulous evaluation of global research reflecting on impeccable evidence of decline in academic learning  in its effort, quality, standards and overall intellectual level and rigour. Finally, it illuminates why it is dangerous to continue clinging ideationally to neoliberal reign in education and thereby evading or effacing some of the lasting and universal wisdoms and precepts of the educational reign preceding neoliberal marketoriented predominancy.

The book will be of interest to students, teachers and researchers of education, higher education, sociology of education, economics and politics of education. It will also be useful for academicians, higher education administration, policymakers, lÓ)