In light of the today’s protests in the UK over increasing tuition fees, do you think post-secondary education is a privilege or a right? Should the government provide i) free education, ii) subsidized education or iii) should students pay their own way (with interest-deferred loans)?
Please respond in light of the financial cost to governments and taxpayers - what return is their for the government, taxpayer and society in general.
Also consider the whether governments should pay/subsidize graduate and professional school tuition costs?
Re: Post Secondary Education - a privilege or right?
I've been writing a reply for the last 30 minutes but words fail me. I'm absolutely disgusted and mourn for the millions out there who will not get a chance to gain higher education without getting themselves into a stupid amount of debt. This is not democracy and this is not investment for the future...the children of today ARE OUR FUTURE!!! Across the whole country, higher education will now simply be an extension of the old Etonian boy's club.
Re: Post Secondary Education - a privilege or right?
Elementary school education up to completion of highschool is generally available as free no matter where you live (Europe, Asia, South America - really the world over, with just a few exceptions).
But what I've noticed is in most countries, including some Western nations, where despite there being free or subsidized education, the elitists create "tiers" within the educational system by having parallel private schools that charge high tuitions or even better ranked schools that have boards that are better funded through higher tax dollars contributions.
So in a situation like that, is a free public school education of any value when it's considered lesser (based on inferior curriculum and poorer resources relative to a private school education?
The most egregious examples that I've seen were in India and Pakistan. Technically every child could go to the free local school - but the curriculum was far behind the private school curriculum and left the graduates with lesser professional skills when competing for jobs in which case parents opted to pay high tuitions so that their child could compete on an equal footing in the labour force.
Re: Post Secondary Education - a privilege or right?
I agree with most of the things that you have said here. I actually quite like the system that we have set up in Canada. The max amount of loan that you can incur during an undergraduate degree of 4 years is about 40K which is less than an undergraduate's annual salary (most profession make more than 40K). This pays off all your tuition fees and for everything else (transportation, books e.t.c) as well. Obviously, if you live on your own then there are some additional expenses that might not be covered.
The good thing that I like about the system is that if you can't find a job and can't make the payments, you can apply for interest relief and that goes on for about 2.5 years till you find a job. I was on it for about an year myself when I was not working and that is a big help. Also, if you become a full time student again the loan payment is differed till you graduate.
Coming back to the point, I think secondary education is a right for everyone as well as post secondary education. it equips you with the tools to work in today's society. It doesn't necessarily have to be free to be a right if it is made affordable and widely available to everyone. That is what my point of view is.