Destination education
Will the top 200 universities set up campus in India under GATT?
Globalisation
of education is not a new concept in India. Takshasila, Vikramsila, Pallavi and
Nalanda Viswavidyalayas are all testimony to India’s globalised education since
its early history. Globalisation of education so far has meant international
flows of education seekers and providers and has been mostly a non-commercial
affair. But the establishment of the general agreement on trade in services
(GATS), changes the complexion of things. It suggests the possibility of
opening India to an influx of foreign educational investors some of whom might
be commercially motivated and of indifferent academic quality. The question
whether as a result of GATT, the top 200 universities will be motivated to
invest in India? That would be good. If not, danger lurks that students may pay
huge fees to substandard institutions simply to get a foreign trademark.
India is a signatory to the GATT (general agreement on tariffs and trade) accord. While we are signatories to GATT accord of 1947, we have become a full member of the WTO, which came into existence on January 1, 1995. WTO revised GATT, with stronger dispute settlement process, GATS and TRIPS (trade related intellectual property rights).
Article I(3) of GATS excludes services that are supplied neither on a commercial basis nor in competition with other suppliers, giving the impression that higher education can be kept outside the domain of GATS. But in practice, it is seen that higher education is provided in predominant measure by private higher educational institutes and a large number of them operate on commercial competitive basis. Therefore, higher education cannot be kept outside the purview of GATS.
GATT services have been classified under 12 broad headings that includes education. Education services are slotted under five categories: primary, secondary, higher, adult and the residual. Under GATT, trade in education is allowed under four modes:
Cross-border supply: distance education, online education, commercial franchising/ twinning of a course.
Consumption abroad: students abroad.
Commercial
presence: establishment of an educational institution or satellite campuses,
branch campus, including joint venture with local institutions.
Presence of natural persons: professors, lecturers, teachers and researchers providing education services abroad.
Although India’s commitments to the GATT on education is still pending, in the case of higher education, trade is taking place under all the four modes. So far, the most important mode of internationalisation of higher education has been the outflow of Indian students to study abroad. According to the ministry of human resources and development (MHRD), in 2012, over 189,000 Indian students were enrolled in higher education institutions abroad and more than half of these students were enrolled at the higher educational institutions in the US. The other important destinations of Indian students for foreign education are United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, United Arab Emirates and New Zealand. On the other hand, our neighbouring countries are most important in terms of foreign demand for higher education in India. According to MHRD in 2011, Nepal (19 per cent) contributed the highest percentage of foreign students in India followed by Bhutan, Iran, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Sudan and Iraq.
The least preferred mode for internationalisation has been the setting up of foreign educational institutions in India since it involves a large amount of investment. There does not exist any proper documentation of the foreign educational institutions performing in India. It has been noted that the number of foreign education providers in India are constantly increasing. There were 144 such providers in India in 2000 that increased to 438 in 2006. It is also noticeable that management (business management and hotel management) and technical programmes constitute the maximum share of all the programmes offered by the foreign educational institutions in collaboration with the Indian institutions, whereas, general education constitute a very minimal share. The message is that so far, the liberalisation policies have induced foreign providers to focus only on certain technical and professional fields of study that can earn them good market returns.
At present, about 50 foreign institutes are operating in India through twinning arrangement. A set of corporate-funded universities that have been founded in the last five years, such as OP Jindal Global University, Mahindra École Centrale, Shiv Nadar University, Ashoka University and Azim Premji University, have tied up with as many as 65 foreign universities across 25 countries. The fee structure of these private universities are also significantly higher compared with public funded ones. It is reported, for example that the fee at OP Jindal Global University for their law school is around Rs 7 lakh a year, while the fee at Mahindra École Centrale is around Rs 5 lakh a year.
At present, all foreign collaborations between Indian technical education institutions and foreign institutions are regulated in accordance with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) regulations. According to the AICTE regulations, all foreign universities / institutions already operating in India prior to enactment of the AICTE regulations had to also seek approval of AICTE to be able to operate in India.
The five broad headings under which the regulatory mechanisms of WTO are framed have critical implications for the implementation of agreements made. These are: most favoured nation treatment, national treatment, market access, transparency and progressive liberalisation.
The most favoured nation status implies that every country should be treated equally and no discrimination can be made among members. If a country allows a foreign educational institute to function at their home then it cannot restrict other members to do so. The national treatment status implies that national and foreign educational institutions in the host country cannot be discriminated. National and foreign educational institutions allowed in the host country must be treated equally in terms of national assistance. Market access indicates the extent to which market access has been granted to foreign providers in a specified sector.
Transparency demands that there has to be transparency with all policies related to barriers to market access and discriminatory restrictions by the members and any changes made on the existing policies should have to be informed on a period basis.
Progressive liberalisation implies that every member country should be progressively remove barriers to trade and accessing market in education with successive negotiations.
The decision making power of a member country regarding its liberalisation of education is critically determined by these modes of transfer. Even though countries are free to make heavy restrictions on the liberalisation of education, it is difficult to maintain once the commitment is made.
Once a commitment has been made, it cannot be withdrawn, modified (before three years of its existence) or have to make compensation through liberalising other services or trade by other modes. GATS assists member states for continuous liberalisation of trade in education though a permanent process of negotiation among the members. Commitment of a sector for trade in GATS may seem to be a voluntary choice but once it is done, all obligations become binding and any further advancement should be towards further reduction of restrictions in trade in education.
The most important argument put forward towards welcoming the intensive process of globalisation of Indian education is that it would bridge the resource gap in educational sector in India. This can help address the problem of excess demand generated for higher education both domestically and internationally. But this argument is countered by the fact that the share of the total outflow of students in the total enrollment of students in India is very meagre, for a number of reasons connected with monetory, personal and career choices. An imbalance of resources would have to met by an increase in government expenditure in education and domestic policies to encourage private investment and a transparent regulatory mechanism.
Another benefit this internationalisation process of education is expected to yield is quality improvement through greater competition. It is expected to augment educational choices to people and facilitate a larger access to institutes of educational excellence. In addition to generating revenue for private and government sectors, educational institutions and member economies, benefits are anticipated at individual, institutional and societal level through increased cross-cultural linkages, academic exchange, technological transfer and wider access for members to different educational systems. Private education and training services constitute a growing international business, supplementing the public education system and contributing to global spread of the modern “knowledge economy”. Internationalisation of the educational system in the country would help develop a more efficient workforce, capable of participating in the in the world economy.
It is also assumed that foreign direct inflow in educational institutions in India would address the problem of brain drain to some extent. If foreign educational institutions operate in India, Indian students can have access to foreign education without going abroad and at a comparatively lower cost.
However, one needs to be alert to the possible though initially not entirely visible costs, both financial and academic, that may accrue with a continuous opening up of the educational sector of India to the international market and which may, perhaps, offset these assumed benefits
India is likely to lose more of its talented teachers to other countries and gain in return an equal flow back. GATS may address the world wide deficit of skilled manpower for different sectors along with the educational sector by facilitating the mobility of professionals. In many countries, the increasing shortage of teachers is resulting in active recruitment campaigns across borders. Since many teachers and researchers want to move to countries with more favourable working conditions and salaries, there is a real concern that the developed countries would benefit disproportionately.
Will networks among institutions be shaped by trade opportunities at the expense of research, curriculum development and other academic activities? If it is the case, then directing resources to the implementation and sustainability of the overall development of the international dimension of education would be a difficult task.
Will the foreign institutions coming to India address our own problems in their curriculum and research or will they act as the training centres of skilled manpower for their domestic supply? The inflow of highly skilled brains in the developed countries mostly involve engagement in solving the problems concerning the developed countries. This is what makes most of our foreign returned students quite unfit for solving local problems. So, a key question is, whose problems will our students studying in the foreign institutions in India solve? Or will they finally migrate abroad to solve the problems there? Will we develop brain coolies for the developed world at a lower cost on our soil?
GATS is seen first and foremost as an economic agreement and its purpose is to promote and expand free trade for economic reasons. Since monetary gain is the main motivation behind GATS, it may divert the focus of education away from the addressing the development needs of our society. Given that the market potential for trade in higher education, especially in the developed countries is already significant and is predicted to increase, it is clear that GATS would help promote trade. But the domination of the trade agenda in GATS might well commercialise higher education without quality enhancement.
From the trade point of view, with increased globalisation of Indian education, India is likely to appear as a huge importer of foreign educational services while contributing very less in total exports. Only a very few number of educational institutes can generate their demand in the international market. These institutes also need to make huge investment to create the required infrastructure to generate foreign demand for their own services.
This might result in a skewed development of education. Only students with the ability to pay a higher fee structure would be able to attend these foreign educational institutions in India. If we assume that a foreign degree would make the students more competitive to have a high paid job both nationally and globally then it would further aggravate the problem of unequal income distribution and the already existing opportunity disparities among the educated population in India.
How will we gatekeep the quality of foreign institutions? There is a huge demand from Indian students to study under the banner of foreign institutions. We have to ensure that the foreign banners that enter impart quality. This is a real challenge. Lower grade foreign educational institutions are mostly driven by profit motive and they keep the admission process easier compared with the higher grade institutions. There is a real danger in this process that, we may end up attracting the lower grade educational institutions to fulfill our domestic demand.
We have to remember that under WTO, we need to give equal treatment to domestic and foreign services suppliers under national treatment principle. India’s large educational system is still struggling to find its bearings within outdated regulatory systems, constrained resources, excessive control yet scant accountability, it is somewhat daunting to try to assess how we can open up space without first setting our house right.
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Librarian
Khaitan
& Co
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