A. Presently, the average American young person hoping to get an admission into college or university is confronted by a college and university education system that is profoundly unlike what their parents enjoyed a few years ago.
For many years, the American higher education system, and the federal aid system supporting it were sufficiently financed. Consequently, many people were able to experience upward economic movement. However, at present, there are countless doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, and so on whose educational and professional ambitions remain unrealized because of mounting costs of university and college education. It is worth pointing out, that until the early 90s, many students did not use student loans to obtain a degree. But at the moment, nearly all graduates borrow to attain their degree; as such the average debt for students who get a bachelor's degree now has hit $30, 000 (Bidwell).
B. Thesis statement:
College and university education is increasingly becoming a requirement for success in the labor market. Free higher education is, therefore, the 21st century equivalent of 20th century's push for free primary and high school education. Free college and university education will free students from the burden of debt; make the American society more equitable; create a more competitive American workforce, and enable competent, ambitious students to accomplish their dreams irrespective of their economic situations.
I. Education is absolutely vital for a country to progress.
The economy is increasingly global and competitive; as such, for America's economy to be strong and competitive, there is a need for a highly educated labor force. That cannot be attained if year in year out thousands of smart students do not afford to enroll in college and university while many more leave college with thousands of dollars' worth of debt. There is a need to ensure that each student in the whole country who wants to join the university can do so, that is, acquire the education that they desire without borrowing irrespective of their family's economic situation. In Scandinavian countries as well as Mexico, for instance, higher education remains free. Higher education is free in Germany also and not just for Germans and European citizens but also for international students. These governments know the importance of higher education; they know that in offering free public college and university education they are not only investing in students who are able to get the skills and knowledge but also in communities that these students will work as engineers, lawyers, teachers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and so on.
II. Free public higher education, particularly for working-class families, will make students from those families understand that if they work hard and take their schooling seriously they will be able to pursue their preferred professions to the best of their abilities irrespective of their family's financial position.
Free public college and university education will also help ease the huge problem of student debt that is presently frustrating hundreds of thousands of college and university graduates. Currently, the US education system is in a state of turmoil. As college and university tuition fees steadily increase and as the federal government reduces higher education funding every year. For that reason, a majority of working-class families in America are struggling to afford higher education. For that reason, each year, thousands of smart students do not get into college because it is just too costly. Additionally, millions of university graduates have had to borrow lifelong loans in order to attain their dream of higher education. As a matter of fact, more than 40 million Americans at present owe the government in excess of $1.3 trillion in student debt, and a huge majority of present university students will equally graduate with huge debts (Best and Best 21). For a majority of graduates, the student loan will take inordinately long to repay, this does not only affect their career options, but also their capacity to buy a home, get a spouse, have children, and so forth. However, if graduates from both university and college no longer have to repay their debt after leaving school, they would do much better economically.
III. Public colleges and universities should also be free because five decades ago if a person had a high school diploma, chances were that they could get a well-paying job and join the middle class.
That being said, even though every middle-class job at the moment does not need a college or university degree, a vast majority of them do. As a matter of fact, by 2020, over 66% of all jobs in America will require higher than high school qualifications (Smith, Strohl and Carnevale 1). It is also worth pointing out that jobs that require college or university degree tend to offer better pay. Since 2010-16, for example, the number of jobs for people with a bachelor's degree grew by over eight million; conversely, the number of jobs for people high school diploma grew by a paltry 800,000. In addition to that, a person with a bachelor's degree earns about $1 million dollars more than their counterpart with a high school diploma over the course of their careers (Carnevale, Jayasundera, and Gulish). Free public higher education will, therefore, ensure that no one is left out from job opportunities because of a lack of higher education qualifications.
IV. Education is largely free from kindergarten to high school in the US; this is because the government understands the importance of education to both the individual and the nation.
Higher education is equally important. As many studies in the recent past have shown, a higher education qualification is a means to a better life. Research also indicates that no investment beats an investment in higher education (Smith, Strohl and Carnevale). In fact, investing in public colleges and universities generate more economic activity than equal investments in roads and bridges, tax cuts, and so on. Additionally, over the course of their lives, college and university graduates use welfare less, use drugs less, engage in criminal activities less, and pay more taxes.
V. Conclusion:
Many countries across the globe have shown that sufficient funding of public higher education pays a lot of dividends – from reduced crime, increased competitiveness, increased economic output, reduced drug use, and so on. Free higher education is not only an investment that generates a lot of long-term benefits; it is also the best means of economic mobility in America. However, as the US economy increasingly needs more skilled workers, that is, workers with the highest academic credentials, the government has created new obstacles to accessing and completing university and college instead of removing them. A move towards free public college and university education would be a powerful indication to the present and future students that higher education and all profession ambitions are achievable regardless of one's financial situation.
Work Cited
Best, Joel and Eric Best. The student loan mess: How good intentions created a trillion-dollar problem. Univ of California Press, 2014.
Bidwell, Allie. "Average student loan debt approaches $30,000." US News & World Report 13 (2014).
Carnevale, Anthony, P, Tamara Jayasundera and Artem Gulish. "America's Divided Recovery: College Haves and Have-Nots. ." Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (2016).
Smith, Nicole, Strohl and Anthony Carnevale. Recovery: Job growth and education requirements through 2020. 2013.
