What is Universal Education?

In this blog I’m going to discuss Universal Higher Education. Higher education typically refers to colleges, universities, vocational and technical schools that award academic degrees. The concept of universal education is simply that education is accorded to all citizens, regardless of socio-economic status. This may sound like a lofty goal, but only within the constraints of the Western model of higher education. In a recent seminar on college teaching we discussed the values of higher education and concluded that the university model may not be suitable for everyone’s educational needs. However, it is indisputable that knowledge itself plays a central role in human life and the advancement of a society. How can these benefits reach citizens of developing countries? With a little creativity one can begin to think of ways to foster higher education in communities where there is no access to institutions of higher learning. There is very little material published on this concept, but Universal Education is a tenet of the Baha’i Faith and thus many case studies that I present stem from those communities.