The
Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education
During the past two
decades there has risen an alarming tendency to undermine, restrict or suppress
academic freedom and autonomy of institutions of higher education. This has a
direct relation to a contracting system of higher education justified most
often in terms of economic austerity and/or political expediency. The most
alarming effect of this has been the increasing violations of human rights of
teachers, students, researchers and educational writers irrespective of
socio-political systems throughout the world. The original idea of a
Declaration emerged out of a WUS workshop held in Nantes in 1984 which launched
a new WUS programme - “Academic Solidarity and Cooperation” - under the
responsibility of a special commission. The Commission, after organising an
international workshop in Madrid in September 1986, requested Manfred Nowak,
now Director of the Netherlands
The first draft of
the Declaration was written by January 1987, and the Commission took on an
arduous process to discuss, test and revise it in consultation with the
international network of WUS national committees both at a national and
regional level. The draft was also sent to over fifty specialist organisations
for comments and their suggestions proved very useful for the final formulation
of the Declaration. The draft was revised three times before it was approved by
the WUS International General Assembly in September 1988.
There
have been commendable attempts by the university communities both at the
national and international levels to respond to the various challenges emerging
from the erosion of academic freedom. However,
many attempts have faced problems without having a clear concept about academic
freedom, its various dimensions and implications. This declaration, WUS hopes,
could pave the way for more understanding, more discussion and more action
towards defending academic freedom and autonomy of institutions of higher
education. Academic freedom is a human right of special importance to the
higher education institutions to fulfil their proper functions. They must be
protected from undue pressures from the state and business interests.
WUS
has resisted to the temptation to proclaim the Declaration as International.
The Lima Declaration” allows the international community to move in the
direction of proclaiming an International Declaration on Academic Freedom and
Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education through a process of discussion
and consultation at a higher level and taking the present Declaration as a
starting point. For this purpose we offer some suggestions for action of the back
page of this leaflet.
Preamble
The
sixty Eighth General Assembly of WORLD UNIVERSITY SERVICE, meeting in Lima from
6 to 10 September 1988, the year of the 40th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Bearing
in mind the extensive set of international standards in the field of human
rights which the United Nations and other universal and regional organisations
have established , in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the
International Covenant on Civic and Political Rights, and the UNESCO Convention
against Discrimination in Education,
Convinced
that universities and academic communities have an obligation to pursue the
fulfilment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of the
people,
Emphasising the
importance of the right to education for the employment of all other human
rights and the development of human persons and peoples,
Considering
that the right to education can only be fully enjoyed in an atmosphere of
academic freedom and autonomy of institutions of higher education,
Recognising the
essential vulnerability of the academic community to political and economic
pressures,
Affirming the
following principles pertaining to education:
a) Every human being has the right to education.
b)
Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality
and the sense of its dignity, and shall strengthen the respect for human
rights, fundamental freedoms and peace. Education
shall enable all persons to participate effectively in the construction of a
free and egalitarian society, and promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations and all racial, ethnic and religious groups. Education
shall promote mutual understanding, respect and equality between men and women.
Education shall be a means to understand and contribute to the achievement of
the major goals of contemporary society such as social equality, peace, equal
development of all nations and the protection of the environment.
c)
Every State should guarantee the right to education without discrimination of
any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political and other
opinion, national or social origin, economic condition, birth or other status. Every State should make available an adequate
proportion of its national income to ensure in practice the full realisation of
the right to education.
d)
Education should be an instrument of positive social change. As such, it should be relevant to the social,
economic, political and cultural situation of any given country, contribute to
the transformation of the status quo towards the full attainment of all rights
and freedoms, and be subject to permanent evaluation.
Proclaims this Declaration.
Definitions
1)
For the purposes of this Declaration
a) ”Academic freedom” means the freedom of members of the academic community,
individually and collectively, in the pursuit, development and transmission of knowledge,
through research, study, discussion, documentation, production, creation,
teaching, lecturing and writing.
b) “Academic community” covers all those persons teaching, studying,
researching and working at an institution of higher education.
c) “Autonomy” means the independence of institutions of higher education from
the State and all other forces of society, to make decisions regarding its
internal government, finance, administration, and to establish its policies of
education, research, extension work and other related activities.
d) “Institutions of higher education” comprise universities, other centres of
post-secondary education and centres of research and culture associated with
them.
2)
The above mentioned definitions do not imply that the exercise of academic
freedom and autonomy is not subject to limitations as established in the
present Declaration.
Academic freedom
3)
Academic freedom is an essential precondition for those education, research,
administrative and service functions with which universities and other
institutions of higher education are entrusted. All members of the academic community have the right to fulfil their
functions without discrimination of any kind and without fear of interference
or repression from the State or any other source.
4)
States are under an obligation to respect and ensure to all members of the
academic community, those civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights recognised in the United Nations Covenants on Human Rights. Every member of the academic community shall enjoy, in
particular, freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, assembly and
association as well as the right to liberty and security of person and liberty
of movement.
5)
Access to the academic community shall be equal for all members of society
without any hindrance. On the basis of
ability, every person has the right, without discrimination of any kind, to
become part of the academic community, as a student, teacher, researcher,
worker or administrator. Temporary measures aimed at accelerating de facto
equality for disadvantaged members of the academic community shall not be
considered as discriminatory, provided that these measures are discontinued
when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been
achieved. All States and institutions of higher education shall guarantee a
system of stable and secure employment for teachers and researchers. No members
of the academic community shall be dismissed without a fair hearing before a
democratically elected body of the academic community.
6)
All members of the academic community with research functions have the right to
carry out the research work without any interference , subject to the universal
principles and methods of scientific enquiry. They also have the right to communicate the conclusions of their
research freely to others and to publish them without censorship.
7) All members of the academic community with
teaching functions have the right to teach without any interference, subject to
the accepted principles, standards and methods of teaching.
8)
All members of the academic community shall enjoy the freedom to maintain
contact with their counterparts in any part of the world as well as the freedom
to pursue the development to their educational capacities.
9) All students of higher education shall enjoy
freedom of study, including the right to choose the field of study from
available courses and the right to receive official recognition of the
knowledge and experience acquired. Institutions
of higher education should aim to satisfy the professional needs and
aspirations of the students. States should provide adequate resources for
students in need to pursue their studies.
10)
All institutions of higher education shall guarantee the participation of
students in their governing bodies, individually or collectively, to express
opinions on any national and international question.
11)
States should take all appropriate measures to plan, organise and implement a
higher education system without fees for all secondary education graduates and
other people who might prove their ability to study effectively at that level.
12)
All members of the academic community have the right to freedom of association
with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the
protection of their interests. The unions of all
sectors of the academic communities should participate in the formulation of
their respective professional standards.
13)
The exercise of the rights provided above carries with it special duties and
responsibilities and may be subject to certain restrictions necessary for the
protection of the rights of others. Teaching
and research shall be conducted in full accordance with professional standards
and shall respond to contemporary problems facing society.
Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education
14)
All institutions of higher education shall pursue the fulfilment of economic,
social, cultural, civil and political rights of the people and shall strive to
prevent the misuse of science and technology to the detriment of those rights.
15)
All institutions of higher education shall address themselves to the
contemporary problems facing society. To
this end, the curricula of these institutions, as well as their activities
shall respond to the needs of society at large. Institutions of higher
education should be critical of conditions of political repression and
violations of human rights within their society.
16)
All institutions of higher education shall provide solidarity to other such
institutions and individual members of their academic communities when they are
subject to persecution. Such solidarity may
be moral or material, and include refuge and employment or education for
victims of persecution.
17)
All institutions of higher education should strive to prevent scientific and
technological dependence and to promote equal partnership of all academic
communities of the world in the pursuit and use of knowledge. They should encourage international academic cooperation
which transcends regional, political and other barriers.
18)
The proper enjoyment of academic freedom and the compliance with the
responsibilities mentioned in the foregoing articles demand a high degree of
autonomy of institutions of higher education. States are under an obligation not to interfere with the autonomy of
institutions of higher education as well as to prevent interference by other
forces of society.
19)
The autonomy of institutions of higher education shall be exercised by democratic
means of self-government, which includes the active participation of all
members of the respective academic communities. All members of the academic community shall have the right and
opportunity, without discrimination of any kind, to take part in the conduct of
academic and administrative affairs. All governing bodies of institutions of
higher education shall be freely elected and shall comprise members of
different sectors of academic community. The autonomy should encompass
decisions regarding administration and determination of policies of education,
research, extension work, allocation of resources and other related activities.