Higher education for free always was a subject for debate. The opinion of the US citizens on this issue is ambiguous: approximately one half considers that the government's expenses are already too high when the other half says that education should be affordable for everyone. American society has recently reached the trillion dollar mark in student loan debts. The problem of higher education is important today and has an impact on building trust between citizens and their government. Many political leaders use higher education as a tool for obtaining additional electoral votes during elections. There are different systems of access to higher education in developed and developing countries.
If the county has developed economics, usually higher education is paid or partially paid. But not all the residents of these countries (even US or UK) have a financial opportunity to get these educational services.
Usually, higher education institutions offer scholarship for students who show good results in studying. Nevertheless, a lot of students are forced to look for a part-time job for extra earnings to maintain their lifestyle. And it has a negative impact on their studying results.
There are many talented people, but not all of them are able to pay for education. The government loses the ability to identify these brilliant minds that can make significant changes in different areas of life. Even the poorest citizens have the opportunity to pursue their goals and be productive in society. Without free education, the rich get richer, and the poor become poorer.
Good education usually is the expensive one. Obtaining loan to get a degree is a regular case in the United States. But usually it puts additional pressure on students, makes them look for a part-time job and interfere to perform well. It may even take years after graduation for loan repayment (Burnett).
The government should value those who are diligently involved in studying the area of their passion and prove their efforts by showing high results in grades constantly. Two years of studying paid by the government might be one of the solutions.
If to set this program for 3rd and 4th years of studying (3rd
year will be paid by the government if results of first two are good and 4th
year will be paid if previous year results are good) it will be additional motivation for each student to improve their performance. This scheme can be also used for 2nd and 4th years, so the student will have extra funds available in the middle of the studying program.
With at least 2 years of free education, everyone can go to college and succeed in the area they are confident in.
It is possible to find countries (European mostly) that offer different kind of educational programs for free. For example, Sweden government offers PhD programs for free not only for Sweden citizens but also for international students when the public universities in Germany do not charge any tuition fee at all, however nominal university administration fee of €150-250 is charged.
Works Cited
Burnett, Keith. “We need to talk about free education” TimesHigherEducation, www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/we-need-talk-about-free-education#survey-answer. Accessed 10 May 2018.
