Higher Education and Culture

• Main Author: Ungku Abdul Aziz, Ungku Abdul Hamid
• Format: Article
• Published: UNESCO 1983
• Subjects: H Social Sciences (General); HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform; L Education (General)
• Online Access: http://commonrepo.um.edu.my/12121/2/Higher%20Education%20and%20Culture%3B%20Ungku%20Aziz%3B%20Apr%201983%3B%20Bulletin%20of%20the%20Unesco%20Regional%20Office%20for%20Education%20in%20Asia%20and%20Pacific.pdf; http://commonrepo.um.edu.my/12121/

This paper is restricted to a narrower perspective of the concept of culture. What is a university? University is the unique place to safeguard all the great civilizations and religions which have interacted through space and time but in one relatively small area. Culture can be divided into national culture, traditional culture, modern culture and tourism culture. The universities must find a balance in rediscovering their national culture and traditional culture. The concept of modern and tourism culture forms around contemporary Western or cosmopolitan culture may wipe out the national and the traditional culture. Hence, the job of the universities is to disseminate and discover knowledge from a wide spectrum from the most ancient known relevant knowledge to the latest reports from the frontiers of discovery. Students, on the other hand, should adopt the voluntary approach to learning in a receptive mood than memorizing the data for the sake of the exam. The universities have another task to be the repository of the national culture and awaken the students about the values of it. Modern technology allows students to have direct contact with traditional forms of culture in perfect performance. Hence, more research should be encouraged to preserve our national culture before it is diluted by the modern culture. However, the head of the university tends to believe that it is more worthy to invest in the facilities for Science and Technology than a piece of fine arts. The university may have to depend on public funds or donations to maintain the operation of its cultural expenditures. Or rather, cultural education should be slipped into the university program to cultivate students’ interest in order to appreciate the culture.