Role of higher education

Higher education plays a huge role in life and should keep on being free whereby it will be paid for by the citizens since the presentation of charges will debilitate request – according to Glennerster, Hills, Le Grand, and Piachaud (2007). To many, schooling is a privilege and ought to be accessible for any understudy notwithstanding their character and financial foundation. This is on the grounds that the top-notch schooling that is openly available presents openings for networks just as people to develop and flourish. It is generally perceived that making a college degree accessible to all understudies who qualify is basic; in any case, the high charges are the boundary to admittance to advanced education. Unexpectedly, there are the individuals who contradict the idea of state colleges being free to attend. As such, this paper will argue on whether the State institutions of higher education should be free to join.
The advocates for tuition-free State Universities assert that it would not only benefit the person who takes advantage of it but the whole country. It is perceived as both a public and private interest. Ideally, in the present day, advanced technical skills are a requirement for most of the jobs. This means that through the program of State Universities being free, the workforce will be better-educated. As a result, they will fill the skills gaps that prevent the economy of a country from growing faster. Universities should be tuition-free to all residents of the state so as to trim down the economic barriers to access (Skrentny, 2002).
When people are younger, they are given the right to education whereby they go to public schools and learn basic knowledge. However, when one desires to go ahead in the job market, they are required to attain a degree, which most people cannot afford. According to the recent survey of college pricing, the average budget for the 2016 – 2017 academic year in-state public college in the US is $24,610 (COLLEGEdata, 2017). This shows that not only has the higher education become expensive but very expensive. This is the elevated price that one needs to pay so as to get a good qualification and learning that guarantees a good job. For this reason, the state universities need to be free of charge for the citizens because many under and middle-class people cannot afford such costs.
On the contrary, there are those oppose the idea that state universities should be tuition-free. There are many arguments for this opposition. For instance, it is argued that if higher education becomes free, the quality of teaching will suffer whereby there would be a significant number of graduates but of low quality. Also, there is the case that free education in state universities would be very expensive for the state as well as the federal government to maintain in the long-term. This will result in the citizens paying higher taxes, which could hurt the economy because there will be less to invest or spend. Those opposing the model of free education in state universities worry that the financial burden would be imposed on the taxpayers (Wang, 2015). Besides, people do not often value what they get for free. This means many students will attend the universities just because they lack anything else to do.
Conclusion
It can be argued that it will be a good thing for the state universities to be free to attend because the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The student loan debt and soaring tuitions are placing college education beyond the reach of many, therefore, increasing inequality. Furthermore, this makes it difficult for low-income graduates to open up a business and buy a house. Free higher education will allow the students to focus more on their studies instead of being distressed on putting together enough funds for the upcoming school terms. Furthermore, a population that is better educated would produce people who make smart decisions at every level of the society. The introduction of fees threatens the equality gained by offering mass higher education (Gideon, 2017).
 
References
COLLEGEdata,. (2017). What’s the Price Tag for a College Education?. COLLEGEdata. Retrieved 5 April 2017, from http://www.collegedata.com/cs/content/content_payarticle_tmpl.jhtml?articleId=10064.
Gideon, A. (2017). Higher Education Institutions in the EU (1st ed.). The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press.
Glennerster, H., Hills, J., Le Grand, J., & Piachaud, D. (2007). Making social policy work (1st ed.). Bristol: Policy Press.
Skrentny, J. (2002). Color lines: affirmative action, immigr (1st ed.). Univ of Chicago.
Wang, V. (2015). Handbook of research on learning outcomes and opportunities in the digital age (1st ed.). IGI Global.