Can the National Information Centers (NICs) Promote Transnational Higher Education in Asia and the Pacific with the Tokyo Convention? A Case of the NIC-Japan

Abstract

Over the past 30 years the Asia–Pacific region has continuously experienced rapid development in higher education. Thus, there was a strong motivation to establish some mechanism to recognize qualifications without barriers throughout the region. In 2011, the Asia–Pacific Regional Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications in Higher Education (hereafter, the Tokyo Convention) was approved by UNESCO. The Tokyo Convention enforces each member state to establish its own National Information Center (NIC) for transparent, fair, and reliable qualification recognition. Japan ratified the Tokyo Convention in 2017 and established the “NIC-Japan” in 2019. Moreover, UNESCO organized an NIC consortium, the Asia–Pacific Network of National Information Centers (APNNIC), in 2019. This chapter offers an overview of the Tokyo Convention and the recent development of NIC-Japan and how the APNNIC promotes transnational higher education. NICs must be key players in facilitating mobility by recognizing flexible learning pathways, such as prior learning, non-traditional modes, and micro-credentials. As the Tokyo Convention emphasizes qualification recognition based on knowledge and skills acquired, NICs must develop and share common systems such as quality assurance and qualification frameworks to facilitate international mobility and lifelong learning, which will eventually enhance the quality of transnational higher education.