ABSTRACT
The WTO considers that the introduction of education services into the ambit of the GATS makes a lot of sense in the current context, in which great transformations are taking place in the fi eld of education and especially in the fi eld of higher education. Generally, the WTO is referring to transformations such as the growing involvement of the private sector in education, the major competition between education providers, the increase in demand for education at all levels, the growing presence of international students in many university systems, a rise in the number of branch campuses abroad, the introduction of new technologies in education at a distance provision, and the reduction in public investment in higher education systems (WTO 2000; WTO 1998). This chapter will expand on the vision of the transformations experienced in the fi eld of higher education offered by the WTO and, more importantly, will explain how the GATS actually contributes to accentuating many of the trends outlined by the organization.
