GATS and Educational Services: Issues for India’s Response in WTO Negotiations

Under the auspices of WTO, negotiations on liberalization of trade in services are expected to begin soon. One agenda at the negotiating table will be trade in educational services. Trade in educational services is too important an issue for India, and, a thorough homework needs to be done before we make any commitments at the negotiating table. In this context, the paper analyses the intricacies of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) as applicable to educational sector. The need for trade, and the likely competitiveness of India’s educational services is also discussed. Finally, suggestions for trade negotiations and domestic reforms are presented. 21. Background General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS, 1995) was one of the agreements that were signed under the purview of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which came into existence in 1995. The central idea of GATS is that progressive liberalization of trade in commercial services will promote economi