Karnataka - Bangalore   

AIDSO opposes inclusion of education in GATS

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: Members of the All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) on Tuesday staged a protest against the inclusion of education in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) protocol. Addressing the protesters, president of the State unit of the AIDSO M.N. Sriram opposed commercialisation of education. Due to privatisation, education is being sold like a commodity in the market and this has made education unaffordable for poor students, he said. Mr. Sriram said that the subsidies provided to Indian educational institutions would come down due to the entry of foreign educational institutions.

In the name of competition, Indian universities and foreign universities would increase fees affecting poor and meritorious students, he said.

The GATS has recognized 161 items as tradable services, including education, and India should not support this agreement, the protesters said.

Zaheeda, district president of AIDSO, said France, Canada and Japan had decided not to join GATS because of the opposition from the people in those countries.

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