Free Higher Education

[1] According to UNESCO, all humans have the right to education. [2] This means people can have free
general education from the primary schools to high schools. [3] However, higher education, which is commonly the
final level in the education process, is the most important level for the students because it improves their
knowledge about their favorite works is not free. [4] In many countries likes the US, the UK, the tuition fees are
much higher than in others likes Germany, Sweden. [5] Therefore, high tuition fee of higher education level is the
most common problem, which keeps students away from being educated in this level. [6] There are a variety of
debates about whether the tuition fee of higher education should be free or not. [7] In this essay, the question of
whether the tuition fees for higher education should be free or not will be discussed in this essay, focusing on the
pros and cons of this fee waiver. [8] It will be argued that, although tuition fees are unfair with students whose
families are poor, it is necessary to keep this fee to ensure the qualities of all universities.

[FOR] It would be argued that all higher education institutions should be paid for their services by the
tuition fee, and it must be equal for every student. This is because universities need tuition fees as an income to
fund research, teaching and other services. For example, if a university wants to execute a research, it is the fact
that the cost for this research cannot be paid by the researchers but the university; and without the tuition fees,
the research cannot be implemented because of the lack in budget. According to two professors at the University
of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, a single research article authored by B-school professors can cost
up to $400,000 (Byrne, 2014). Admittedly, the cost for the research can be paid by the government or other
organizations. They are always willing to contribute to university research. However, the government and other
organizations always require the result of the research for further use and if the purpose of research is for
individual universities only, this solution is unfeasible. For that reason, the tuition fee should not be removed to
ensure economic benefits of universities.

[AGAINST] On the other hand, many consider it unfair to students to pay common tuition fees for higher
education, especially those who come from poor families. These fees disadvantage poor students from attending
and being educated at this education level because their families cannot afford higher education fees. As an
illustration, middle-income or poor families cannot pay for the tuition fees if they have many problems to keep an
eye on; and these students have to find a part-time job to pay for their universities or drop out. The majority of
college dropouts, 38%, stated they quit due to financial pressure (Hanson, 2021). However, there are a variety of
loan, exemption, and scholarship policies which are provided by many universities, which help poorer students
continue studying. These students might request for help from their universities to apply to the most appropriate
policy for their needs. Admittedly, cost is an unavoidable factor for any university; however, issues such as
fairness, equality, and learning are far more important.

[Your Opinion] Considering the arguments from the paragraphs above, I believe it should not be free for
higher education because the universities require an income to contribute to their budget for services, for
examples: research, teachers and staff salary, charity. Along with that, they need to support students more to
ensure the quality of teaching for as many students as possible. Although free higher education provides a variety
of benefits to poor students, the qualities of education in universities have to be considered.

To sum up, the essay has discussed whether higher education level tuition should be eliminated or not,
focusing on the pros and cons of this elimination. As can be seen from this essay, it becomes evident that the
tuition fees should not be removed because of their impact on universities’ activities. The tuition fees can be used
for a variety of reasons, which improve the quality of education for students. While considering the benefits of
these fees, there are some problems about the fairness and equality between students who come from different
backgrounds: poor and rich families. However, these problems can easily be solved by appropriate policies from
universities without eliminating the tuition fees. We will improve the education quality for children with these
contributions.

References

Byrne, J. A. (2014) “Cost Of An Academic Article: $400K” [Online]. Available at:

https://poetsandquants.com/2014/07/16/the-shockingly-high-cost-of-an-academic-article-400k (Accessed: 14th
December 2021).

Hanson, M. (2021) “College Dropout Rates [Online]. Available at: https://educationdata.org/college-dropout-rates

(Accessed: 14th December 2021).