So far, education is playing a good role in the betterment of our countries and the people at large. Free higher education is what many people wish for especially those who really value the importance of education but cannot afford it. Education should be a fundamental right. Society as a whole benefit when there are educated people - we also demand more and expect a better standard of living.
Take for instance in Europe, education is a fundamental right for children below 18 years. If a child under 18 works and does not attend school, the parents are fined and must appear in court. The primary and secondary education of children over there is free and mandatory and even for those at the tertiary level, their fees are relatively low. However, I understand that they pay taxes but the good thing is that they also benefit from the government through education and health, etc.
For my country Nigeria, I don't see the possibility of free higher education any time soon though it's possible if we can manage our resources with a good government on the seat. This is because the country is already in a terrible recession. The government is always borrowing trillions of naira from other countries now and then thereby subjecting our economy to more danger. I wonder when we will come out of this terrible debt. Nigerians also hardly pay taxes, me in particular, I stopped paying taxes because I see no reason why I should do that when the government doesn't care about my welfare, it's all about struggling to get every single thing (survival of the fittest). You see, even with the high cost of higher education in Nigeria, we are still in a total mess as a country, so I really don't know where the government will generate the money to pay the teachers considering our situation presently. However, it would have been nice if an oil-producing country like Nigeria have all it takes to give free Education to its masses.
The Effects of making education free for All
If education is free, more students will also attend school. Society in general improves as problem-solving is dealt with better. Education benefits the economy overall.
Society and behaviors will also improve when we have the majority of educated people who applies quality knowledge to work and business.
Also, there are lots of street kids out there who wished to be in school. There are also lots of people who dropped out because of school fees, so imagine a free Education, they will be happy to get back to classes and add value to themselves. Do you also remember that some higher education students work and school at the same time to pay bills? Even when it's inconvenient for them - if education is free, students will focus more and get better grades as there is no concern about the ability to pay for fees and no stress as well.
Of course, whatever has advantages also has disadvantages. The bad side I can see from this free Education is that some people may not put more energy into learning, after all, they are not paying for it but I am sure that more people value education these days so the percentage of non-serious learners wouldn't be significant.
It will only improve the standards of teaching because the more educated and curious people are the more they demand a higher standard as they are then encouraged to do their research and will challenge the educators. This forces and encourages institutions to have higher standards for themselves. A high population is expected but the government can always make adequate plans for teachers to give in their best for a better outcome on the part of the learners.
So all in all education should be free if possible or perhaps make the fee relatively low for everyone to have easy access to it because it provides - opportunities, economic, personal, and social benefits, and overall Equality. Society as a whole will then operate on a higher level.
This is my entry to the #hivelearners community contest on the topic titled FREE HIGHER EDUCATION
