Should University Education Be Free?
Have you ever wondered what a free university program will be like? Students no longer need loans and their parents do not need to worry about the tuition fees anymore. It sounds perfect to embrace a free-charge educational system when there are more and more countries start running free university education. However, money matters a lot when it comes to improving the quality of teaching equipment and materials. If the tuition fee is taken away, how is a university going to afford the great amount of cost? As a result, university education should not be free because it will create burdens for society, reduce the quality of education, and lessen students’ motivation on studying.
One of the biggest problems with free university education is that people need to pay more taxes to support it. A university is usually in charge of a wider range of business than a high school. Except for regular courses, a university holds various extracurricular activities such as research projects, career development, and community services. Without the tuition fees, a university has to rely on taxes to upgrade teaching equipment and hold activities for its students. As a result, the tax system will be dramatically influenced and it can create pressure on both the government and the taxpayers.
Another impact that free university education may encounter is students might sign up for universities without carefully considering what they want to learn and their future paths. If students do not have to take the responsibility for their tuition fees, fewer incentives can motivate students to study hard and graduate within the time limit. Also, their parents might encourage students to stay in universities longer to earn back what they have paid in taxes. As a result, students may linger in universities and do not want to start working. Due to the reasons above, free university education may stimulate students who are not dedicated to studying to join courses anyway and create a bad situation for students.
However, some people might argue that free university education benefits students from low-income families and help the poor develop social mobility. On the other hand, universities can provide tuition discounts or grant aids to better motivate students who have economic concerns. According to Delisle and Kim (2016), “Public universities themselves are a form of student aid. The tuition and fees that they charge undergraduates do not cover the full cost of education” (p.2). That is, the current education system already offers a subsidy to students who are not affluent. Instead of carrying out a free university education plan and creating huge budget problems for the government, it is more practical to directly offer grants or discounts to students in need of economic support.
To sum up, free university education might cause a serious impact on the taxation system and the education quality. The taxation system needs to be rearranged and people will have to pay more tax to support free education. Furthermore, without the pressure of tuition fees, students may not take education seriously and recklessly join courses that do not fit their aspirations. Overall, the free university education system does not benefit the poor and it cannot provide as many incentives as the tuition discounts or grants aids we have already acquired right now. For these reasons, university education should not be free and people who promote free university education should also think twice before they act.
References
Delisle, J., Kim, D. (2016). Do state subsidies for public universities favor the affluent? Evidence Speaks Reports, 1(23), 1-10. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ES_20160728_Public_University_Subsidies_Delisle_Dancy.pdf