Free Education Eliminates Student debts, Uneven Job Prospect and Creates Equal Opportunities
University education should be free for all students, not just the wealthy as access to higher education should be everyone’s right and not a privilege. Expanding access to higher education should be an urgent national priority for all countries as technology is changing business landscapes.
Many bright young people are not pursuing higher education even though a B.A. or B.S. will increase their changes of getting better employment with higher pay compared to non-graduates. This is due to the fact that universities have become an unaffordable luxury and taking up student loans means they will be saddled with huge debts before they even graduate. In the UK, wealthy parents will pay the tuition fees up front to avoid interest rates of 6.3% and not well-to-do students have to pay thousands of pound just for interests. This exposes a fundamental injustice at the heart of the student finance system.
Some students will also have to choose cheaper courses which are not their areas of interests, or leave home to study in a university with cheaper tuition fees while students from wealthy families can choose to study in elite universities which offer better job prospects. Higher education should be free and available to everyone regardless of family’s wealth so everyone gets equal job opportunities upon graduation.
A more educated population would have economic and social benefits for the country.
Some people argued that free education is using the taxpayers’ funds but the return on the investment is huge as educated citizens are capable of giving back more to society than society puts into funding their education. If university education is left to market forces, there may be under-provision, and the economy may suffer from a lack of skilled graduates. If more people were living up to their potentials, pursuing higher education and getting better jobs, there would be positive ripple effects.
Reports have shown education boosts the country’s productivity and economic wealth. In countries like Norway, Finland and Germany where university education is free, there are less individuals who draw on social support programs as there are high employment rates with high wages. At the same time, education also improves their social cohesion, social mobility, social capital and political stability.
