Education, although a right in itself, often tends to be the privilege of a few in almost all societies, irrespective of the levels of economic growth and social development.

This has been most so in the developing countries and India in particular, partly due to the colonial past and mostly due to lack of political will and inadequacies in national polices. 
  A cursory examination of the realm of  higher education reveals  the plethora of issues and concerns associated with it that range from matters related to access and equity, cost, implications for poverty and livelihood, employment , employability to sustainable development. Such concerns have acquired critical proportions in the wake of globalization that gathered momentum at the turn of the 21st century. As a matter of fact, such concerns appear to be capable of disturbing peace and most often setting the stage for conflict in one way or another, as is manifest in the recurring unrest in most developing countries.

One of the important concerns in this regard is around the social exclusion that reiterates the plea for inclusion, and an equally important matter of concern pertains to access and equity.

On the other, the correlation between education and sustainable development is yet to capture adequate attention of policy makers and educationists. The direction of education takes globally and its very nature and content are likely to have deleterious implications for sustainable development. The intensity of the same has been well demonstrated by the outcome of the recent Copenhagen Summit. The globalization and the process of internationalization of Higher Education, stimulated by the GATS/WTO  agreement, have generated  fresh issues and concerns  that range from quality, mobility and regulatory parameters. The challenges raised by the internationalization of higher education outweigh the opportunities, most often limiting the options open to developing countries.

 

India, despite its modest achievements in certain spheres of education recently, seems to be no exception.

Rather, in the absence of adequate institutional initiatives, national policy may aggravate the anomalies and may churn out a new generation of value ridden youngsters who may contribute to the ongoing panic and confusion.  The state of Kerala, despite the strides made in the realm of education, appears to be consistent with the national and global trends.  In turn, it is quite essential and highly meaningful to examine the correlation of education with the notions of peace, social inclusion and sustainable development.  That is precisely the rationale of this International Conference.