Free and Equal Education

Over recent years, more and more people have been receiving education and arguments have persisted as to whether students should pay for this privilege or not. Although there are convincing arguments on both sides, I strongly believe that it should be free.

Some people think that education should not be free because it is becoming more expensive for governments to fund as schools and institutions grow in size. Consequently, making students pay may maintain standards and ensure the quality of the teaching, while the government can focus on improving other public services instead. In addition, it is argued that qualifications provide graduates with access to higher paid jobs, so it is fair that they pay for some of the costs. Last but not least, in many countries, there is a shortage of people to do manual jobs such as plumbing and carpentry, so making education more expensive may encourage people to take up these jobs instead of going to university.

However, there are a number of arguments that support free education. Firstly, it will encourage more people to attend and this will benefit society. This is because it will lead to a more productive and educated workforce. Research has generally shown that those countries that have a better educated population via university have higher levels of innovation and productivity. In addition, people should have equality of opportunity. If all students are required to pay, it is unfair to low income families. They will likely be concerned about the debts they will incur in the future, and might be discouraged from pursuing education.