Year Zero - Who is Giampaolo Tarantino - Marco Travaglio 24/09/2009
Luigi Mazza Italy out of the first 150 universities in the world. What is not working and why the Italian University Gelmini model is wrong.
This year is drawn to the Times Higher Education rankings of the best universities in the world. And this year Italy has confirmed its free fall towards the lower positions. To understand, according to this classification, the Italian universities did not even appear in the Top 100. To find an Italian to get off 174esima position, where it appears the University of Bologna. Only consolation is that since the University of Bologna is in 74th position for the right to Economics and Social Sciences, Humanities and 52nd for those of Art. On average, Italian universities are located in position 441 (in 2008 were in position 431). Wisdom after the Alma Mater of Bologna, is the best in Italy, according to the charts, peaking at 205esima position (25th instead for the Faculty of Natural Sciences). Going down the rankings then you go from position 286 of the Politecnico di Milano at positions 322 and 377 of Pisa and Florence.
The latest ranking of the 621 best universities in the world we find the Bocconi University in Milan within the first 500 (but in 68 th position for the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences), and other important as Tor Vergata University (Rome) Siena and Naples Federico II. There are new entries such as Catania, Genoa, Modena and Perugia, ranging in rank among the latest.
All European universities are in the opposite direction: they are 39 (compared to 36 of 2008) European cities have a university in the Top 100 of the world. In the very first place, needless to say, Harvard is located (for the fifth consecutive year), followed by Cambridge in excess of Yale. Uphill all Asians. Among the first European in 20 th position, is placed Zurich.
In light of these data is nothing short of embarrassing the ranking of the Ministry of Education drafted according to the parameters of the minister Gelmini. To understand the Polytechnic of Milan, according to the Ministry is among the most virtuous (third place), but according to this ranking is much later (286) the universities "spenders" like La Sapienza (205) and Bologna (174). Other examples (all gelminiani) of virtuosity, as Trento, Genova, Bergamo and the Politecnico di Torino does not even appear among the top 400.
But according to the Minister Gelmini "the Times ranking confirms what we always said loudly, that the Italian university system should be reformed urgently." He adds: "We are the last places in the world rankings."
And it had made all the enlightening discovery. But the "Gelmini system" seems take water from all sides. It aims to cut that appear indiscriminate and without any criteria, other than that of savings and blind faith to absurd laws of the market. Funding the universities considered "virtuous" based on parameters that are not very clear (those who manage to spend less than 90% of the Ordinary Fund), and penalize the others, those deemed "lazy", to quote the Brunetta. In the latter the agony has already begun, with contracts not renewed and heightened instability, which add to an already difficult situation made the humiliating term contracts, starvation wages and for hiring researchers blocked. Not to mention the widespread practice of legalized to exploit the students to handle various offices and libraries in exchange for "morattiani" credits.
everything arrives on the blade of the minister Gelmini with the lowering of the already ridiculously low turnover, which is blocked at 20% to 50% only in the universities "virtuous" but provided that they allocate 60% of recruitment, following the retirement of teachers already in place, researchers (who obviously short-sighted mentality of liberalism in all Italian always have to cost less). These effects of the famous "Gelmini Law," not to discuss here the rest of the cuts to public education.
The state will spend less than before to finance University and Research; choice illogical given that Italy was already out of the minimum requirements of the OECD (1% of GDP to be allocated to universities and research) and distant from the implementation of the Pact of Lisbon provides for the 3 % of GDP, unless the Minister Gelmini put his hand on the University Post, the State intended for that only 0.9% of GDP. Italy is well behind Turkey and Portugal to spend 1% of their GDP, Sweden, Denmark and Finland who spends 1, 8 (twice). And we are light years away from other companies such as Korea and the U.S. who spend respectively 2.3 and 2.9% of their GDP.
The future of the Our part is to become the "foundations". They will be individuals who will finance the universities, which will "expropriate" their property (including land) without ever paying taxes for the transfer of ownership. They will thus decide that the type of research will, of course, that pays off in the short term because the market needs money now, and has no time to waste on research that will result in 20 or maybe 30 years. Knowing what we lose? We can imagine it.
What there is to be cut does not seem clear. The salaries of the "barons"? Waste? Well, the Minister Gelmini, purchase of the new Berlusconi government, it should be noted that the major problems of our universities have exacerbated their glia during 2000-2006. Government Amato (center), ministers Zecchino, Berlinguer and the Berlusconi government, Minister Moratti. What does? We try to explain it. During these years, the number of universities increased from 65 to 83 of the 2001/02 2006 / 7, an increase of 27% for the public, and 50% for private (which rose from 14 to 21). This was the huge growth and irrational that favored among others the birth of four University "telematics", whose real purpose is hard to understand in times of cuts and calls for savings. They were born master outrageous and sometimes ridiculous: expensive courses that provide the appearance some kind of certainty in terms of employment, for whatever agreement with the labor market. The master, children of 3 + 2 paradoxically exploit the inefficiency of the same 3 + 2, introduced by ministers Berlinguer - Zecchino and maintained by Moratti. Arise in many cases to ensure that something extra, just in terms of curricular awards, for those of a three-year degree and then a specialist in the mold of the former often does not know what to do because the job itself does not know that to do with recent graduates who have loans to heavily harvested 2 to 2, 4 to 4 and so on and so multiplying. Credits born in the logic that the University should look like the labor market, a large company (this also happened in the Italian entrepreneur Berlusconi government). Many Masters, certainly not all, are born in the dark, just because some teacher sees us in them a source of income, just to round off his salary and squander money so that the University will render twice.
In the Italy of cronyism that has happened in universities all have seen the source of earnings, and the political classes from the center-right in the center-left, we saw potential electoral bottomless pits, where to place friends and friends of friends, until to wives, children and various relatives. Up to colonize the University because, you know, such as ASL is a reference sure to control and divide the vote in many local situations. So Italy have sprung up like mushrooms in new universities and new faculties within them, and even new courses and new chairs for the new courses.
And the students? And the students are charged. In any reform, and in any decision they always pay. 'Subaltern' always, in times of wealth as in times of crisis. Especially their loafers, their absentee teachers on their side took to the streets throughout Italy. And they, ol'Onda for them to hear the ministers and Brunetta Gelmini Cossiga or large, are guilty of a corrupt and parasitic seconded, to have protested to defend the interests of the "barons".
It would therefore, is provocative to say, blame the students if the minister Gelmini had to go to Reggio Calabria to pass the test of advocacy? Blame the students if the Minister Brunetta, founder of meritocracy, he became professor for taking "by operation of law", that only through the so-called "big amnesty" of 1981 with a competition? Blame the students if the same is the most absentee (he!) At Tor Vergata for his political commitments? Maybe it's also the fault of the students that if Brunetta Nobel prize for economics has not won despite being in contention to receive it.
is not infinite, and here there is nothing to laugh, the fault of students, teachers and even many serious, if Italy continues to export brains then pay for patents and results of research carried out abroad, perhaps from the same Italian students exported. Strange that of the nationalist right-wing Italian, who later accused of anti-Italian and opposition newspapers. And all this while our universities are preparing to become "foundation", perhaps managed by banks and companies that play in the Italian market the same old game, with the takeover of false accounting and bankruptcies, mergers and Chinese boxes or of those same factors that have fostered and encouraged 's current economic crisis.
Mediapolitika.com " Blog Archive »UNIVERSITY ', ITALY" OUTSIDE WORLD ". PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON WHAT DOES NOT WORK
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