Free Education(Against)

We often hear the phrase “right to free education”. But what do we mean by free education?
“Free education is education that is funded through the government rather than by tuition.”
Therefore, when we refer to free education we refer to it as free from “tuition”. The increased
demands for free education throughout the world are mostly due to the appreciating expensive
tuition which has led to a snowball effect which is larger student debt. Student debt only in the
US accounts for 1.5 trillion dollars. The idea of free education is appealing but far from realistic.
This utopian idea’s costs far outweigh the benefits. Many drawbacks contradict the benefits of
free education which include lower quality of education, demotivation of students, increase in
taxes, and the devaluation of the worth of a degree leading to financial irresponsibility. Let me
further explain these arguments.
One of the repercussions of free education is that student motivation will drop. It sounds like
the opposite but it’s true. A study published by the Washington Post found that students who
have paid even a substantial amount in tuition performed better than students who did not pay
anything. Students who paid felt that they had a sense of responsibility and overall were more
committed to their classes because they had already invested in their courses (Ng, 2015). This is
what we call a sunk cost. Anything that is given away for free has little to no value for the user
(as in no sunk cost), thus there isn't a strong enough motivation to maximize the benefits of
what is given. People don’t take it seriously because they have nothing to lose. According to a
study published by Brookings, “only 21 percent of the test group, which received free
education, actually met the standards for the money” (Serino, 2022). Since they have nothing
to lose, students are more likely to drop out of college and the dropout rate is already a
significant 40%. Also, education is a collaborative effort. Education cannot simply be "given"; it
must be desired. If someone wants something they must be willing to pay for it. Students'
motivation will take a hit and students will not be inclined to finish their education. Therefore,
they will take their free education for granted.
As a consequence of the previously mentioned cause, students will mostly take more time to
finish their degrees. Students might not pressure themselves and take things lightly if free
education is offered. Moreover, a degree that might take 3 years to complete originally might
now take 5 years. If free education rules are ratified, students will try all subjects and therefore
lose time in the process of figuring out what they like and don’t like. A solution for the people
who can’t afford college is simply financial aid. Financial aid is the best tool to reduce costs for
students while maintaining or even improving their motivation. Financial aid can help students
reduce their student debts while maintaining high motivation and quality education. Public
funding can help increase financial aid and allow less fortunate students to enroll in universities
and therefore increase the number of people entering the workforce. Another solution could
be to lower the interest rates of student loans. Since student loans play a massive role if a
student can pay for their education, the government can encourage students to enter
universities by decreasing the rates on student loans. The government can motivate students to
attain higher GPAs for lower rates on student loans. This can allow students to pay back their
loans faster while improving their GPA.
In conclusion, free education has some drawbacks including a negative effect on student
motivation, a potential increase in student dropout rates, and students will not value their free
education. Such repercussions can be avoided by supplying a higher amount of financial aid and
by the government offering lower interest rates on student loans. Free education may not seem
as pleasant as it sounds.

References:
Ng, C. (2015, November 13). Free tuition won't help students. these investments in community
colleges will. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/free-tuition-wont-help-students-these-
investments-in-community-colleges-will/2015/11/13/a815ca1e-8989-11e5-be8b-
1ae2e4f50f76_story.html

Serino, L. (2022, March 9). As free college programs move forward, experts agree that design
matters. Brookings. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-
center-chalkboard/2018/10/02/as-free-college-programs-move-forward-experts-agree-that-
design-matters/