Converting schools and universities into facilities that produce commodities for the job market, privatizing them, slashing their budgets—do we really want this future?
By **Noam Chomsky** (Guernica Magazine)
By arrangement with AlterNet.org.
The following is a partial transcript of a recent speech delivered by Noam Chomsky at the University of Toronto at Scarborough on the rapid privatization process of public higher education in the United States.
A couple of months ago, I went to Mexico to give talks at the National University in Mexico, UNAM. It’s quite an impressive university—hundreds of thousands of students, high-quality and engaged students, excellent faculty. It’s free. And the city—Mexico City—actually, the government ten years ago did try to add a little tuition, but there was a national student strike, and the government backed off. And, in fact, there’s still an administrative building on campus that is still occupied by students and used as a center for activism throughout the city. There’s also, in the city itself, another university, which is not only free but has open admissions. It has compensatory options for those who need them. I was there, too; it’s also quite an impressive level, students, faculty, and so on. That’s Mexico, a poor country. Seguir leyendo
