The continued politicizing of higher education

Politics should have no place in education, especially national politics. I say this because political winds shift and change all the time, and the professional politicians are playing “the game” of politics, whereas, professional educators know that education is not a game.

Politicians, who are there temporarily, too often feel they are doing the right thing, but in reality, they are doing what is ‘right for them’, politically.

More congressional oversight is not the way to fix issues in education, especially when some of these issues are a matter of opinion, therefore highly subjective.

“New Federal Oversight Proposed for For-Profit Colleges”

“Three Congressional lawmakers are pushing for a new federal committee that would coordinate the government’s oversight of for-profit colleges. Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Tom Harkin of Iowa, both Democrats, plan to introduce legislation Thursday that would create a committee comprising representatives from nine federal agencies that oversee for-profit colleges.”

“The committee would be tasked with improving the coordination among the various federal and state regulators that are investigating for-profit institutions. It would also publish an annual “warning list” of colleges that have been found guilty of illegal activity or institutions for which the committee otherwise has “sufficient evidence” of widespread abuses. Representative Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, plans to introduce an identical proposal in the House, but both bills are likely to face fierce opposition from Republicans, who have been critical of the Obama administration’s efforts to more tightly regulate the for-profit industry.”

Read here: http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/04/03/new-federal-oversight-proposed-profit-colleges

I have no loyalty to any political party, so my issue here is not political. What bothers me is the amount of money these particular politicians have spent on investigations, special meetings, etc, etc; and they have nothing to show for it! That money would have been better spent facilitating collaboration between traditional and non-traditional educators so that they could work together in the true best interest of students.

Remember, it is not about your political ego, it is about the students.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam