The government should pay for the course fees for everyone who wants to study at the university. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

As the modern world is becoming increasingly complex and knowledge is becoming more and more specialised there is no doubt that tertiary education is necessary both for the whole society and for individuals who want to ensure that they have a good profession. However, I disagree that the government should pay the course fees for everyone who studies at the university. In some cases it should be borne by the government and in others it should be paid by the individual.

There is no doubt that the whole society benefits. In all developing countries there has been a strong effort to raise the educational level of the society by putting as much money as possible into providing educational institutions. Universities and colleges are, however, expensive to run. Because of this, it is felt that such countries are held back in all forms of development. Without enough educated professionals such as doctors, teachers, scientists and engineers, developing countries cannot move ahead. Governments in such countries provide scholarships or free education, to as many students as they can fund, because they realise that the whole country will benefit. Many developed countries also try to offer free tertiary education because they want a highly educated population.

There are also strong arguments why government should not fund everyone’s higher education. It is a fact that individuals benefit so much from tertiary education that they should be expected to pay for it. Doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers have some of the highest incomes in most societies. People argue that the government, and therefore the tax payers, should not pay for students who will later earn more than anyone else. Moreover, most students come from the middle classes and their parents can afford to pay for their fees. There are, of course, some students who cannot afford to pay. This problem can be overcome by giving the students a loan to pay for their fees, and later, when they are earning a good salary, they repay the loan.

Finally, it is also a well known fact that if we get something for free, we don’t value it that much. The university classes would be full of non-serious students who would spoil the decorum of the classes. There would also be drop-outs and students may not complete their education. In such cases a lot of government money is wasted.

To conclude, I would like to reiterate that the government should not pay the course fees for everyone who wants to study at the university. However, the government can provide funding to the poor and needy students in the form of loans which can be repaid later.