In this piece, I will discuss, explain and try to analyse the inclusion of Education as a tradable service in the GATS and its implications in the Indian education framework. I will take the FAQ approach to discuss the topic, and in the process clear my own doubts and plant a seed of thought in your mind. So let’s begin.

What is GATS?

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that was first mooted in 1995, under the Uruguay round of negotiations. It was created to bring the service sector under the ambit of international trade, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) covers the trade in commodities. It is intended to make bilateral trade in services smooth and transparent between two countries, so that both countries enjoy equal benefits of trade.

Which services are covered by GATS?

Practically every service under the sun except prostitution, as of now. Ranging from architecture to voice mail telecommunications, to space transport, healthcare, entertainment and banking, any service that is rendered in a modern economy in lieu of compensation, is considered to be tradable, and covered under the GATS.

Is education also a ‘tradable service’?

Very much so. Education is a service provided by an institution in exchange of money, and consumed by a student to obtain a degree or certificate, to be showcased as a proof of the student’s skills to help him/her secure a favourable position in the competitive job market. Hence, it is a tradable service just like tour operating services. And it’s important to ensure that service providers don’t take the consumers for a ride.

How does India come into the picture?

India being a member nation of the WTO, is by default covered under the GATS treaty. Every member is free to select the services it wants to offer for trade. Till now India has been unwilling to make a commitment in case of education. However, the Ministry of Commerce has finally made up its mind to open up the gates of foreign investment in the sector of education. It will be official by December 2015. Once made, such a commitment cannot be opted out of, because of its irrevocable nature.

Did this GATS thing happen all of a sudden?

Since 2000, India has been getting requests from foreign educational institutions to open up services. The countries in question are Australia, Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and USA. However, 15 years ago, education was still considered as a public good, to be provided by the government either free or heavily subsidised. It was believed to be one of the responsibilities of the govt to make its people literate, educated and socially responsible human beings.

Not any more. Priorities have shifted. Making nuclear missiles, launching rockets and building bullet trains are added responsibilities that the govt must carry out to remain in power. To assure the taxpayer that his blood and sweat is being to put to good use. Commodifying education is one of the moves of the govt to liberalize the economy.

What kind of education will be affected by GATS?

The main subsectors under the GATS in the area of education are:

Primary education Secondary education Higher education Post secondary technical and vocational, university degree or equivalent Adult education Other education services

India has decided to open up higher education for foreign investment. This is the area where there would be considerable imports and exports.

What kind of exports and imports are we looking at?

For this we have to know the modes of supply that determine services trade.

Cross border delivery : Distance education and degrees from foreign academic institutions is an import interest for India. Export opportunities lie in outsourcing education, providing elearning services and many more. Consumption abroad : Thousands of Indian students go to study abroad every year. It’s an import of education in lieu of hefty tuition fees. On the other hand, India can export its services by opening the gates for students of less developed countries to study in Indian engineering and medical colleges. Commercial presence : Foreign universities can set up local branch campuses to facilitate more Indian students getting foreign degrees. Similarly, Indian institutions can set up overseas campuses. Movement of natural persons : Indian institutes can import the services of foreign faculty and scholars, whereas Indian teachers can be deployed overseas to cater to an increasing migrant population.

Economically it seems to be a win-win situation for the Indian government. By exporting education services through the above mentioned modes, the government can create a favourable balance of trade for the economy.

What will be its immediate ramifications?

In the short run, we can hope to see a lot of foreign varsities setting up shop in India which is a huge market for higher education. The service tax paid by consumers will fill the coffers of the government. Export of services will also start trickling in, but like any other developing country, India is not so much famous for its education system than its output – the students.

We can also hope to see a sudden spurt in education outsourcing projects bagged by IT companies. More hiring on the cards! For future graduates, training and education will be a good career opportunity. A lot of good teachers might leave the country, to fill up the posts in Indian colleges setting up branches abroad, though that’s a distant possibility.

How will this impact the Indian higher education institutions?

There is a clause in the treaty of GATS called national treatment. This implies that a foreign supplier will be treated in the same way as nationals, in order to let free trade prevail without any market restrictions. So the first thing that will have to be stopped is subsidy. If a subsidy needs to be given, it will have to be provided to all suppliers. Since that will not be possible by a government struggling to reduce fiscal deficit, the grants and subsidies have to be stopped. The government might eventually scrap reservation also, but since it remains a sensitive issue of electoral politics, we cannot hope to see immediate results.

If subsidies were to be discontinued, a Calcutta or a Delhi University will no longer be able to provide higher education to poor students at a subsidized price. It will be a survival of the richest! The poor will have to be content with vocational education or skill building to earn a livelihood, and never get the opportunity to move up the education ladder.

What will be the role of the UGC and other such bodies after GATS comes into being?

The WTO has expressed the need for a single window for the global market instead of several institutions like the UGC, AICTE, MCI, etc. In fact, the election manifesto of the BJP talked about setting up an empowered central institution to improve the quality of higher education in India. So the process has already started.

What will be the long term implications?

No one can predict the future, but if we go by the general trend nowadays, the amount of independent and fundamental research will decline. More emphasis will be given on applied and technical courses, because they will get you jobs. The chances of bright students leaving the country will be even more, because they would have paid exorbitant sums of money to obtain a foreign degree, but would not get a matching compensation in their own country.

It will actually be a win-win situation for the foreign institutes. They will set up branch campuses in our country, net a fortune by selling their graduate courses, use the surplus to fund their own research, come up with patents, and sell them back to India.

However there is a greater threat.

And that is?

The revival of the caste system in our country.

Are you serious?

Absolutely. Higher education can empower an individual, enabling him to form an opinion, making him enlightened. Knowledge is power. It is highly political in nature. Secondary education makes you literate, but higher education opens your third eye of knowledge. By preventing the poor from accessing higher education, the government intends to keep them in the dark, relegating them to the lowest strata of ignorance. A new class of Shudras will emerge, the educational untouchables, who in their lifetime will never get an opportunity to touch, let alone taste the fruits of knowledge. They will be denied the right to know and learn, in the same way, their ancestors were denied the right to read the scriptures.

On the other end of the spectrum, we will continue to have the rich educated elite class of the society, the Brahmanas who will dominate the education scene, with their access to higher education. Laws will be made by the Brahmanas, and history will be rewritten. Just like Sanskritization took place after the Aryan race arrived in North India.

In the absence of real knowledge, dogma and ideologies will fill the minds of the uneducated. The Shudras or the proletariat, whichever name you call them will be successfully divided on the grounds of religion. This will allow the Brahmanas and the bourgeoisie to rule them more easily, and live happily ever after. In the absence of any voice of dissent, and by manufacturing public consent with the help of the media, the long cherished dream of Hindu rashtra and Ram rajya will come true.

Hey wait, you’re not making it all up, right?

I wish it never came true. Tell me one thing, such a phenomenal change is going to take place in our country, and we haven’t seen a single media house doing a story on this. If the government was so sure of its honest intentions, why not take the taxpayers into confidence? Why not come clean and clarify its stand. They are so vocal about something as insignificant as the census data, why a golden silence on this issue?

Maybe they are scared of us!