Lok Sabha Question No. 3661 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-21
Subject: Higher Education under GATS
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: SUSHMITA DEV, RAJESH RANJAN  (PAPPU  YADAV), PONGULETI SRINIVASA REDDY, RANJEET RANJAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3661 TO BE ANSWERED ON   21 st DECEMBER, 2015

## HIGHER EDUCATION UNDER GATS

3661.   KUMARI SUSHMITA DEV: SHRI RAJESH RANJAN: SHRI PONGULETI SRINIVASA REDDY: SHRIMATI RANJEET RANJAN:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)   whether  the  Government  has  made  an  offer  to  open  market  access  to  higher education under World Trade Organisation (WTO)/General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
- (b)  if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  whether there is  a protest/resentment by teachers/professors to withdraw the offer made to WTO/GATS; and
- (d)  if so, the details thereof and steps taken by the Government to pacify the teaching community in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)  & (b   Department of Commerce has informed that India  offered  specific commitments in 'Higher Education Services' tabled in the WTO, in 2005 which are still in the 'offer' stage with no  legal  validity.  India's  offer  for  foreign  educational  institutions  to  establish  commercial presence (mode 3) mentions that - fee to be charged can be fixed by an appropriate authority and that such fee do not lead to charging capitation fee or to profiteering; Foreign investors can start colleges/universities in India only subject to such regulations already in place or to be  prescribed  by  the  appropriate  regulatory  authority.    India  has  also  taken  carve  out  for subsidies,  which  implies,  that  India  can  continue  to  provide  subsidies  to  domestic  service suppliers.

(c)& (d) There was  a news  item quoting the All India Students' Association (AISA) representatives  that  discontinuation  of  Non-National  Eligibility  Test  (NET)  fellowship  was  a result of the domestic system being re-structured to meet obligations before the WTO-GATS. Department  of  Commerce  has  clarified  that  the  Non-NET  fellowships  are  in  the  nature  of administrative  programmes  being  implemented  by  the  GOI  and  other  countries  based  on certain  criteria  like  merit,  promotion  of  research,  social  inclusion  etc.    The  said  financial support is being provided to students/researchers who are not service suppliers.  The General Agreement  on  Trade  in  Services  (GATS/WTO)  obligations  would  not  apply  to  such administrative  schemes.    In  fact,  administration  of  such  schemes  are  in  the  nature  of  'a service supplied in the exercise of governmental authority', which the GATS defines as any service which is supplied neither on a commercial basis not in competition with one or more service suppliers. Hence, introduction, continuation or discontinuation or any scholarship/financial support to students and research scholars in higher education, etc, are pure  administrative  decisions  taken  by  the  Regulator/Government  independent  of  the obligations under the GATS.

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