Should education be free for all?

[Braixen]

In some countries all education is "free", in some countries some education is free to a certain level and then you must pay for it. For example here in Canada we don't pay for anything until after high school and then we pay a LOT for university education. So, the question is.. should we pay for education at all? If we don't then does that mean we will lose service workers? That our countries will shift for the worse? Or do we think it will free people and allow young adults to become independent sooner?

What are the pros and cons for and against free education for all?

What does your country do in terms of education?

Should there be major cut off points for free education based on grades and achievements?

<3

[Aberforth]

I live in Quebec where school is free from preschool to college.

First, I should explain how our school system work :



Level
Duration


Preschool
1 to 2 years


Primary
6 years


Secondary
5 years


College (CEGEP)
2 to 3 years


Undergraduate (Bachelor's)
3 to 4 years


Graduate (Master's)
2 years


Doctoral
3 years or +



▪ : Free (aside from books and stuff)
▪ : Pay to attend (but still pretty cheap [around $ 4 000 per trimester for undergrad])

I do believe we reached a fair balance. Lowering the cost to universities gives people equal opportunities to succeed in life. Intelligence and talent are not given the wealthy alone. There is lot of untapped and undiscovered talent and intelligence lying covered under impoverishment. Low-cost education opens the doors of opportunities to these talented people.

It also enables students to concentrate on learning and gaining more through the education, instead of struggling with the payment of tuition fees and meeting other expenses.

Free education would be beneficial to those who deserve it, as well as, to the society as a whole.

[PV]

In Britain, Education is free until University, unless you choose to go to a Private (Also known as Public) school. The school years are as follows:

4-7 Infant School
7-11 Junior School

(These may be combined as a 'Primary' School)

11-16 Secondary School
16-18 Sixth Form / College (Education has only just become mandatory up to 18, it was previously 16. It's up to each individual to select where they go at this point)

University 18+

In 2010, University Fees were increased from approx £3000 (Approx $4500) per year to £9000 ($14000) per year, despite part of the coalition government pledging not to increase them, which resulted in mass student protests (Of which I was on the front line, I left moments before this incident (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12159581).

University Education was free until 1998, when the government introduced Tuition Fees, capped at £3000 for the whole course, before it was increased to £3000 p.a. in 2003. Scottish residents, studying at a Scottish University get free university education. Free education is a big deal for the National Union of Students, and Education is a key part of British Politics. After they went back on their 2010 promise, the Liberal Democrats went from 57 seats in parliament to having only 8 following the election 2 weeks ago. Students are also a large part of the Green Party, as Free University Education is one of their pledges, alongside their environmental concerns.

Student loans in Britain provide money for your tuition, as well as a basic living allowance (Around £3500 a year, the average UK Salary is £26,000, however students from disadvantaged backgrounds may be entitled to additional financial support) and you don't have to start paying back until you are earning a certain amount per year. Following 6 years of university on the 3k fees, I've now got almost £40,000 of student loan debt total, but don't need to start paying it off until I'm earning over £20,000 a year.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

I think free education is wonderful, but it's not always possible for governments to pay for it, I suppose. I think as we move more into online modes of teaching at universities, it should definitely be possible to provide more free education.

In Australia we have primary school (years Prep to 6), high/secondary school (years 7 to 12) and then university. Primary and secondary school are free if you go to a public school, or your parents can spend a bunch sending you to a private school. University was free for a long time but fees were introduced back in the 80s or something, maybe. I dunno. These days, loans are available from the government to pay for university fees (but not living expenses), which must be paid back once you earn a certain amount of money. The cost depends on the course and subjects you are doing. All in all, my 4 year science course came to about AU$30,000. Because it is a science course, it's probably a bit cheaper than others as the government likes to push science/maths etc. Once you get your undergrad degree out of the way, scholarships are available to do doctorates, which include living expenses, though it comes out to less than minimum wage if you add up the number of hours you actually work. xD Scholarships are only available to the top students and are generally difficult to get.

Recently, the government is trying to allow universities to set their own fee amounts which means they can charge $100,000+ for degrees if they want to. Of course, the more prestigious universities will take advantage of this and charge very high fees, which people will still pay because the university has a good name. For some unknown reason the government seems intent on introducing a more American system, which is probably the worst idea I've ever heard. :P But they just want universities to make more money so they can stop having to fund universities so much.

I don't think free education will necessarily cause us to lose service workers or anything like that. Further education is just not right for some people. I have students every day who just don't try and clearly only went to uni because they didn't know what else to do or were expected to. Tertiary education in Australia is very accessible to anyone with no upfront fees, so making it free probably wouldn't make more people attend anyway. I do like our system though, and I think it is much fairer compared to other countries were you need to pay heaps of money or get a scholarship to even have a chance of attending university.

I believe primary and secondary education should definitely be freely available because they teach essential life skills which everyone really needs to contribute to society.