Education :A Demand Supply

Perspective
&
Education Services-GATT Implications
India Challenges—Way Forward

Prof. K. Subramanian
Deputy Director General
National Informatics Center
Ministry of Communications & Information Technology
&
IT Adviser to CAG of India

Invited Talk
International Conference of AIAER on Education & GATT
Patiala, Punjab, India
30th December 2005
 Outline of the Presentation

• Education: Demand-Supply Overview

• Education for All-A Dream to Reality
with ICT
• Universalization of Education and
Curriculum Reform
• Education Services & GATT-Challenges
and Implications for India

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 Education
Goal and Objective
• To make learning and Knowledge • Delivering education-
-a social and economic activity
• Acquisition of Knowledge
demand supply
-a life long activity perspective
• Technology-a solution to demand
for learning & create new
possibilities to make it happen • Re-skilling and
Demand of diverse learners retraining employees
Diversity of goals arising due to
Diversity of contexts economic structural
Demand for higher education changes creating a
new social demand
Renewal of employee skills in
service
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 Situation Today
Learners Type of
INFRASTRUCTURE
• Diverse group NEEDS
• Separated by - space
• Separated by-time
• Flexible
• Possess different-prior • Global in reach
learning skills
• New educational training • Interactive
needs • Affordable

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 Overall Framework
• Institutional • Learning to know
framework • Learning to do
• Learning to live
• Technologic together
al framework • Learning to be

• Financial
framework

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 New Trends of Knowledge
Workforce

(1) Opening of labor market and workforce

mobility
(2) Reengineering systems for adjustment
against technological environment
changes, and consideration of Global
demands and employment.

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 New Trends of Knowledge Workforce

(3) Creating and pursuing new Global trends

with technology evolution such as
 6T (IT, BT, NT, ET, CT and ST)
 Digital Cocooning,
 Insperience (Indoor + Experience),
 Web Identity (Avata, MiniHome,…),
 Consumption Curator,
 Ubitizen (Ubiquitous + Citizen),
 DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting),
 TPS (Triple Play Service: Internet+Tel+Broadcat)
 Grid Computing

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(4) Creating and pursuing new Global trends in
Works, Workforce and Workplace such as
 Freeter (Free + Arbeiter),
 Increasing freelancers as telecommuters
 Unstable professionals :MD, Lawyers, CPA,
 Mobilization of workforce across national borders
 Advent Pan-Asia as a Super Growth Block
 Japan: Global Leadership with Future-based High-tech in Media,
Robot, Biotech
 Rep. of Korea: Electronics, Car Manufacturing, Steel Production,
Semiconductors with strong IT infra
 Taiwan: Strong Small Medium Industry
 China: Rapid Growth Rate[9%], Right Wing of Super Growth Block
 India: Rapid Growth Rate[7-8%], Left Wing of Super Growth Block
 ASEAN: Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia,
Philippines, …….
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Educational Services & GATT
Disclaimer!!!
Opinion Expressed On Education Services--India

• Presenter's own perception & analyzed from

the accessed information on this subject with
due acknowledgment.
• Now way reflect GOI’s thinking nor
commitment on Implementation
• Derived from the Global perceptions of
countries such as USA, Australia, Japan,
New Zealand, etc.,
• Would like to acknowledge the discussions
with eminent educationists

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GATT offers
• GATS agreement works on a positive approach:
each country is free to offer a limited range of
services for negotiations
• Services can be added periodically to a country’s
offer list as and when the country deems fit.
• India will make submissions in educational
services which includes higher education.
• WTO scenario differs from GATT submissions.

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Trade in Educational Services

• Restrictions depend on local legislation

rather than custom regulations
• India could offer only distance education
and some professional educational
services under the positive list
approach, subsequent preparedness
is to be ascertained.

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 W/120 Classification List

• Main classifications:
• Primary education services
• Secondary education services
• Higher education services
• Adult education services
• Other educational services
• Not clear on the coverage of liberal arts,
business and professional education

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 W/120 Classification List
• Not clear on the differentiation of Training
Services– (related to higher education,
adult education and other education services-
less theoretical and more job-related
requiring hands-on operation of tools,
equipment and certain devices) and
Educational Testing Services (used
to evaluate the students & course materials
and Learning resources-designing,
administering and evaluating tests)

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 India—Higher Education
Scenario
• Inability of the university system to provide
higher education to all who aspire it.
• There is no political commitment of public funds
and quality of the education in some universities
is below par, to say the least—This is the slack
the unregulated private sector is taking up today
at considerable cost to students.
• Should private foreign funds be allowed to
compete in higher education? Should we allow
this competition?

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 Higher Education
Foreign Services in India
• Any educational service provider can enter
India without any regulation as long as they do
not want UGC/AICTE recognition.
• The consumers has no way of verification the
claims of the multitude of service providers who
promises all sorts of benefits to the students.
• Many even offer unverifiable links to foreign
institutions.
• Need for a regulator to be created by the GOI
in the field of educational services.—
appropriate legislation to protect consumers.

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Higher Education-Foreign
Services in India
• FDI in services is built into the specific
mode of delivery of services in the case
of educational services, unlike others.—
India should specify FDI is whether and
with what restrictions to be allowed.

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 Higher Education-Foreign
Services in India
• If higher education is opened up even in a limited
way, the opposition to FDI may come from private
sector itself.
• India’s service must also be seen in the context of
bargaining strategies at the WTO—to win in some,
and to loose in some. This context of known
developing country positions on Mode 4(movement
of natural persons and GATS VISA) and India’s
efforts to keep markets open for its IT services.
• USA is keen to open up this educational services
sector, but worried about outsourcing of services by
its domestic companies to India.
• A strong domestic legislation is necessary to meet
the challenges of post-WTO world.
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 Implications of Education Services:
Concerns of many Countries focused on
Knowledge-based Industries/Economies
• A strong public education system for
equitable and increasing economic
welfare, cultural development, mutual
understanding and functioning of
democracy.
• Diversity of education system requires
private and public to coexist—may be
delivered by the same
institution/channels (including consulting)

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 Implications of Education Services:
Concerns of many Countries focused on
Knowledge-based Industries/Economies
• 1.Any education system should conform
to the title or a curriculum or any other
form of specification of the education
service issued by govt. or any agency
mandated by the govt.
• 2. Public mandate should be form of the
education policy enshrined in a legal
act, but mere permission to deliver a
service is not sufficient.
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 Implications of Education Services:
Concerns of many Countries focused on
Knowledge-based Industries/Economies
• Third criteria: public education services
corresponding to a public need for the
supply of this service—This may or may
not be reflected in any laws.
• Universities have the obligation to assure
the quality of their education services.—
UGC/NAAC/AICTE/Any other body should
develop guidelines and Evolve & Enforce
Quality Standards.

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 Recent India’s Efforts
• AICTE norms (May 16,2005)—
stringent;interfere in governance of the
institution thus gives less autonomy for their
functioning.
• AIU-Bilateral recognition of degrees-stress
on collaborative and mutual recognition.
• NAAC-not able to manage sheer number of
institutions.
• May be we have to clarify --accreditation,
funding, acknowledgment as a public
institution or as a public service.

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 Recent India’s Efforts
• Both private and public education services
should coexist to offer a strong, competitive,
accessible, high-quality and evolving system in
an open and non-discriminatory environment.
• Using the flexibility of GATS, India can be a
dynamic environment for education services,
meeting the existing demand and enhance the
attractiveness as an International location.
• IGNOU-operates in 22 countries and is
subjected to no country intervention on
curriculum/ Education Governance

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 Compete and Ensure Quality
Assurance in EDU Services
• Creation of Safety Net and maintenance and
improvement of the quality of education and
research activities (protection of consumer-
learners interests)
• Ensuring international equivalence of degrees,
diplomas (mutual/Global recognition)
• The differences between countries in respect of
the educational system (establishment
authorization, third-party evaluation, degree
granting system), roles of federal/state
governments-difference in the administrative
structures needs to be carefully addressed.
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 Compete and Ensure Quality
Assurance in EDU Services
• Establishment of Collaborative Research—
international organisations such as OECD as
well as in international groups consisting of
University evaluation organs in each country;
and constructing an information network on
the higher education supplied across borders.
• India to retain sovereign right to determine
our own domestic funding and regulatory
policies/measures.

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 Compete and Ensure Quality
Assurance in EDU services
• To facilitate access to education and
training courses that in qualitative and
quantitative terms are not otherwise
available.
• To provide a competitive stimulus to
Institutions with flow-on benefits to all
students

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 Compete and Ensure Quality
Assurance in EDU services
• To foster internationalization of education&
enhancing flow of students between countries enable
• Fostering a knowledge and appreciation of other
languages, cultures and societies-to benefit
students professionally and culturally.
• Facilitating an exchange of people, ideas and
experiences-international cross fertilization of
academic knowledge
• Networking relationships between individuals,
groups, & institutions which can facilitate future
economic, political and socio-cultural alliances.
• It will under spin the desirability of facilitating
greater cross-border flows of students as well as
educational service providers

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 Issues
• Consumption abroad:
• Migration
• Recognition of qualifications & funding
overseas qualifications
• Commercial Presence:
• Limits of ownership/foreign equity
• Rules on twinning arrangements which restrict
the development of these institution-to-
institution arrangements
• Lack of transparency of government
regulatory, policy and funding frameworks

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 Issues
• Presence of Natural Persons:
• Visa issues regulating free flow of academics
• Employment rules regulating the free flow of
academics.
• Restrictions on the use/import of educational
resources/materials( academic tools of trade)
• Cross-Border Supply:
• New regulatory mechanisms for the use of
internet as medium of delivery of services
• Restrictions on the use of/import of
educational materials & resources

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 Way Forward
• Negotiations in Education Services should take
care of:
• Students to have access to best education services
• Should not prevent member countries from establishing
own domestic education policies and regulatory
measures should not prevent from the establishment
• Flexibility of public funding to meet domestic policy and
regulatory objectives
• Comphrensive services and take care of differentiation
of education services (movement of natural persons) and
other services
• To retain sovereign rights to screen for temporary entry
immigration rules.

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 Way Forward
• Development of Human capital  making them
efficient workforce by taking into mobilization of
Human Capital because of Globalization, Competition
and Employment across Borders
• Trade in education does not equate to an erosion of
core public education systems & standards—support
and supplements national policy objectives
• Opening up educational services with due diligent
and care will benefit the participating economies
• Individual
• Institutional
• Societal level through academic exchange,
increased cross-cultural linkages and
technology transfer.

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 Way Forward
• Education at present one of the least committed
of service sectors-because of “Public Good and
high Government Involvement in its provision”.
Freeing some levels frees up funds for more
serious sectors of domestic development.
• Clarifying the delineation of services between
“Higher”, “Adult & Community”(CPC92400), and
“Other” categories.(CPC920900).
• Some interface and commitment on education
agency services (recruitment & Placement) to
be an sub-integral part education services at
large.
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 Way Forward

• academic study and teaching Recreational &

Sporting Services are as distinct from
instruction of groups or individuals in the
Practice of Sports. (CPC 9641)
• Regulatory Issues should collaborate with
sector specific regulations and ensure
transparency and fairness of Administration.
• Fees and Taxes imposed on the Licensing
and Royalty Payments to be reviewed.

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 India Can Excel in the
Education Services
Let all of us work together to
make India Pride and Shine
 Thank
You
THANK YOU
For Interaction:
Prof. K. Subramanian
ksdir@nic.in
ksmanian48@gmail.com
ksmanian20032004@yahoo.com
Tele: 23239560