Through the vast knowledge we tend to gain during our learning phase, education is thought to be one of the few ways to improve the world for everyone. However, despite this positive and optimistic outcome, not everyone can afford it due to the enormous amount most of these schools charge, so today I'll be diving into what life would be like if education were free.
The amount charged by various schools and institutions in our present-day world seems ridiculous and outrageous because, come to think of it, it wasn't as much as this a few decades ago. And this isn't just a case of economic collapse; it seems these institutions see it as an avenue to loot from the parents and guardians of each student. It's funny to realize that there are schools that charge as much as a million dollars for a primary school student per section.
We live in a world where almost 50 percent of its population is wallowing in property, yet institutions charge a ridiculously small amount just to groom and shape the leaders of tomorrow into the appropriate intellectual mindset and intelligent individuals that can take us to the next level.
Education, I believe, shouldn't be something we pay for, but instead given out freely to help transfer knowledge from one generation to another and also be seen as an avenue for continuity that brings about development. But once people are drained out just to acquire knowledge, then their mentality will mostly be shaped around money and how to acquire it to send their own children to school rather than focus on researchers who could develop the world.
IS FREE EDUCATION POSSIBLE?
As regarding this question, I'll say yes, truly free education for all is possible, not just because I say so but also because it's something that's effective in so many different parts of the world till today. In Nigeria, for example, although no longer in place but during the time of MKO Abiola, education was made free for everyone in the western region of the country, and despite the fact that it was free, teachers are still being paid handsomely as they perform their duties.
I know one of the first questions that'll come to mind is, "How will the school be maintained or teachers paid when education is free?" We need to understand that for every professional we have in various fields today, each actually passes through a teacher, so bringing funds from different fields' income to fund education shouldn't be a big deal, and that way we can give everyone the opportunity to go learn in the school.
EFFECTS OF FREE EDUCATION
- EDUCATION FOR ALL: I believe the effects of free education will be positive for basically everyone, and one of the reasons I said this is because there are many children who wish to go to school, but because their parents couldn't afford it, they were rendered hopeless, so an avenue of free education will bring them hope, and via that, they can go to school just like everyone else.
- RELIEVE THE PARENTS: Another positive effect it'll have is on the parent or guardian of kids around the world. The enormous work parents do just to make ends meet and pay the school fees of their kids is saddening, and indeed, it's not easy at all. I can remember my dad taking out a loan to pay our school fees and then working tirelessly just to pay it back on time since his retirement, and my elder brother has been the one paying the school fees of our other siblings since his retirement, and now I can tell that truly having a free education will relieve and ease the stress that parents go through.
- LEARNED SOCIETY: Making education free will make us have a learned environment, because many parents will definitely send their kids to school, and even the parents and adults who don't have an education background will want to dive into adult education as well, and that way we'll have a society of learned people, and that way numbers of illiterate will reduce drastically.
HOW FREE EDUCATION MIGHT AFFECT STANDARD OF TEACHING
Having free education can in some way affect the standard of education if some things aren't in place or properly managed and paid attention to. For example, if teachers aren't adequately paid, this could lead to them reducing the efforts put in during teaching. Also, when the facilities of the school aren't improved to the standard that will make education dissemination easier, it'll surely affect the standard of education.
so in a nutshell, when teachers are well paid and facilities are properly managed, maintained, and improved, free education won't be an avenue via which the standard of teachers will reduce. to further authentify that, supervisors should be sent to various schools to vet the effectiveness of the teachers and also look into what can be implemented in the school facilities to improve the standard of education.
That's about all on my opinion about free education, the effect it'll have on the standard of education, and many more, and the write-up on this topic was prompted by the Hive Learners prompt writing weekly contest; you can read @kronias article for further information.
Thanks for reading, have a blessed and productive day.