Task 2:

Benefits:
- ‘’Free university education would benefit society, not just students. It would result in a
more educated and productive workforce. At the same time, a rise in the number of
graduates and researchers would imply an increase in innovation and productivity.’’

- ‘’The existence of free university education is extremely beneficial for students. There
are countries that have implemented this system. They charge extra taxes to finance
university education and thus, provide it for free. This will be beneficial for students
but it will increase the tax burden on society.’’

Reference: Alif, I.B.A.(2022). ‘’Should University Education be Free?’’.

https://news.iium.edu.my/?p=166347#:~:text=The%20existence%20of%20free
%20university,the%20tax%20burden%20on%20society.

- ‘‘It would reduce the amount of student debt being carried over time.
More than 10 million students take out loans every year to pay for their tuition and learning
costs. By making college free, these costs would be shifted to other locations, like a fuel tax
or a sales tax, making it easier to handle the costs of tuition.’’

- ‘’It would allow students to focus on their education.

For students coming from a challenging financial situation, college is expensive, even when
student loans are available. The average Pell grant in the United States currently covers
about 30% of tuition costs. In the generation before, this grant covered 75% of tuition costs.
When there is less debt involved, students can focus more on their school work and less on
finding a job to pay for those expenses.’’

- ‘’It would provide more people with relevant vocational knowledge.

At the moment, just 56% of students who are currently enrolled in their first year of college
will earn a degree within 6 years. The highest completion rates are for students attending
private, non-profit schools. The lowest completion rate is for students attending a two-year
public college.’’

Reference: Louis, G.(2018). ‘’19 Should College be Free Pros and Cons’’.
https://vittana.org/19-should-college-be-free-pros-and-cons

- ‘’Free College Would Decrease Inequality’’.

- ‘’Social inequality is one of the major arguments as to why college should be free.
Students who choose to pursue college eventually graduate with an average of
$32,731 in debt (Friedman, 2020). Students from low-income families are usually
held back by the possibility of incurring huge amounts of debt, and opt not to pursue
college. Between 1979 and 2012, the inflation-adjusted earnings gap between two-
earner households, one with high school diploma and one with college diploma
increased by about $28,000 (Pew Research, 2014). This cycle of inequality is
expected to continue unless free college becomes a policy.’’

Reference: Imed, B.(2022). ‘’Should College Be Free? The Economic Impact of Free
College’’.
https://research.com/universities-colleges/should-college-be-free

- ‘’If college were free, more individuals would be able to apply for jobs that otherwise
they would be unqualified for. This would be especially beneficial for poor students —
after all, those with a college degree are more likely to be able to climb the economic
ladder than those without. According to the Pew Research Center, kids born in the
lowest income group who do not earn a four-year degree are four times more likely to
end up at the bottom than those who obtain a four-year degree. Needless to say, free
college would not only solve unemployment but also economic poverty.The
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) of the United Nations (UN) says
that labor is often the only asset that the poor can use in order to improve their well-
being. Therefore, allowing them to have the opportunity to earn a degree for free in
order to qualify for available jobs can help in the attainment of poverty reduction.’’

Reference: Al, A.(2023).’’10 Reasons Why College Should Not be Free and 12 Reasons
Why It Should Be’’.
https://collegerealitycheck.com/should-college-be-free-or-not/

In Vietnam:

- ‘’According to the Ministry of Education and Training, being exempted from tuition
fees is one of the main reasons, attracting about 50.5% of students to choose
pedagogy. This policy has had a certain promotion effect when there are a number of
students enrolling in pedagogy.’’

- ‘’In fact, a large number of students choose pedagogy for the reason of free tuition.
Research at Vinh Long Pedagogical College has contributed to prove this when
reaching the conclusion: 36.54% of first-year students choose to study at the school
with the reason of “Free tuition”.’’

Reference: Thuy Linh.(2018).’’Bỏ miễn học phí sư phạm sẽ tránh lãng phí được hàng trăm tỉ
đồng’’.
https://giaoduc.net.vn/bo-mien-hoc-phi-su-pham-se-tranh-lang-phi-duoc-hang-tram-ti-dong-
post192524.gd

Disadvantages:

- ‘’Free College Would Deepen Inequality’’.

- ‘’While free college is perceived to be the mechanism that could level the playing
field, an opposing view argues that free college education would further drive
inequality due to the wealth concentration among the top 1% of society (Deming,
2019). Students that belong to the upper socioeconomic status could also avail
themselves of free college, and since this group has a starting advantage in terms of
basic education, it would widen the earnings gap, thus, strengthening social
inequality. A free college program would be regressive because students from poor
 families are less likely to attend college while their wealthier peers can even choose
to study in selective universities.’’
- ‘’Free College Would Negatively Affect the Quality of Education’’

Reference: Imed, B.(2022). ‘’Should College Be Free? The Economic Impact of Free
College’’.
https://research.com/universities-colleges/should-college-be-free

- ‘’In the United States, student loans have already devalued the worth of a 4-year
degree. To earn an upper middle class income, many students are finding that a
graduate degree is becoming necessary. Free college would devalue degrees in
other ways as well, from students deciding to cut classes because they have no
personal investment to less involvement with their studies. There is a strong
possibility that free college would encourage more recklessness in college learning,
not less.’’

- ‘’When more people are infused into a system that is not used to accommodating
them, bad things happen as a result. We already experienced this issue when
changes to the healthcare system in the United States were implemented in 2010.
With more patients qualifying for covered care, wait times at medical clinics went
from 1 week to 6 months almost overnight. That lowered the quality of care available
and made accessibility more difficult. If college were to be free, this issue would likely
occur within the educational realm as well.’’

Reference: Louis, G.(2018). ‘’19 Should College be Free Pros and Cons’’.
https://vittana.org/19-should-college-be-free-pros-and-cons

In Vietnam:
- ‘’However, the question is whether these students really fit the industry requirements
as well as whether there are many good students entering the pedagogy industry.

- ‘’This has been assigned by the Ministry of Education and Training a number of
scientists, sociologists and experts to seriously and methodically conduct research in
order to have relatively accurate and scientific data.’’

- ‘’50% of pedagogical students do not do the right major’’

- ‘’According to the Ministry of Education and Training, the rate of pedagogical

students graduating and having jobs in the education sector after 3 months is over
50%.’’

- ‘’Thus, the number of non-pedagogical students will work outside the field (except for
some students waiting for a new recruitment). This will lead to the state's investment
 not bringing the expected effect, the "loss of revenue" on the investment will take
place.’’

Reference: Thuy Linh.(2018).’’Bỏ miễn học phí sư phạm sẽ tránh lãng phí được hàng trăm tỉ
đồng’’.
https://giaoduc.net.vn/bo-mien-hoc-phi-su-pham-se-tranh-lang-phi-duoc-hang-tram-ti-dong-
post192524.gd

Task 1:
Pros:
Higher overall education level
Lower unemployment rates
Higher average salaries
Also kids from poor families can go to college
Increase in overall GDP
Higher level of technological progress
Higher tax revenue
Social benefits of education
Diversity would increase
Cons:
College education as an investment
Those who profit should pay for it
Higher burden on taxpayers
Educational inflation
Longer studying periods
Students may not value their education
Less motivation to study hard
Not everyone is suited for college
Overall education quality in colleges may decrease