Why Education Should Not Be Free?
More People Would Go to College The idea of college being free could actually decrease the value of a college degree. Since everyone can afford one, it may become more commonplace and could lower salaries for those who already have a bachelor’s.
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Does education have to be free?
According to international human rights law, primary education shall be compulsory and free of charge. Secondary and higher education shall be made progressively free of charge. Free primary education is fundamental in guaranteeing everyone has access to education.
However, in many developing countries, families often cannot afford to send their children to school, leaving millions of children of school-age deprived of education. Despite international obligations, some states keep on imposing fees to access primary education. In addition, there are often indirect costs associated with education, such as for school books, uniform or travel, that prevent children from low-income families accessing school.
Financial difficulties states may face cannot relieve them of their obligation to guarantee free primary education. If a state is unable to secure compulsory primary education, free of charge, when it ratifies the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, 1966), it still has the immediate obligation, within two years, to work out and adopt a detailed plan of action for its progressive implementation, within a reasonable numbers of years, to be fixed in the plan (ICESCR, Article 14).
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Should education be free pros and cons?
Top 7 Pros And Cons Of Tuition-Free College Education –
Pros | Cons |
Better access to the education | A college education is an investment |
More children from low-income families can go to college | Children from wealthy families don’t need free tuition education |
Better average education levels | Students might not concentrate on one major |
Free tuition education might lower the wage gap | Students might not value the education anymore |
Lower unemployment rates | Declining quality of college education |
Pressure on the students can decrease | Several students may not be suitable for the college |
Lower the debt levels of students | Students should pay for their studies, not taxpayers |
Is free education a human right?
Article 26 –
Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
What countries do not have free education?
UNICEF’s January 2012 report states all children should receive primary education that is not only free and mandatory but of good quality. This supports the United Nations’ declaration of education as a basic human right in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.After all, increasing access to education has been proven to reduce poverty and disease; students often receive food, water, and vaccines and learn life skills that improve community health.
- For young children, schools provide a safe environment with socialization and emotional support.
- For low-income countries, one year of education increases a person’s future income by an average of 10%.
- In response to these benefits, the United Nations made universal primary education one of its Millennium Development Goals for 2015.
Educational Problems Today Although the world has made remarkable progress towards this goal, there are still countries where it has not been reached. In fact, most countries around the world do not offer free primary educations to their citizens. Countries without free primary education include Cameroon, Colombia, Maldives, and Sudan.
Furthermore, in numerous countries where primary education is free, schooling beyond that is not. Primary education in many low-income countries and secondary education in almost all low-income countries require not only supplemental expenses but tuition, regardless of whether the education is public or private.
This means that families pay for baseline tuition in addition to out of pocket fees for transportation, school supplies, and even classroom supplies, with textbooks making up around half of the poorest families’ educational expenses. The World Bank found that such payments were common in 77 out of 79 countries surveyed.
These payments often make up most of the financial resources schools receive. Families in Uganda and Nepal provide around half of all educational funding, whereas families in Benin spend significantly more on secondary education per year than the government does. Compare this to families in Finland and Italy, who cover less than 10% of educational funds.
This shows how those who are most in need of and least financially able to pay for education take on the largest financial burdens for it. Unfortunately, educational expenses are only expected to rise. UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report estimates that costs per primary student will increase up to three times and costs per secondary student will almost double what they are now. Financial and Social Barriers to Education Such educational problems exist because, on the one hand, governments may lack the financial resources or political capacity to meet their children’s needs. Tax bases may be small, and funds for public schooling may be allocated to higher education or other institutions that benefit those who are already educated.
- This leaves fewer resources for creating schools, training teachers, and providing materials, and international funding doesn’t sufficiently cover the discrepancies.
- On the other hand, children may be pressured into leaving school to contribute to household income or care for sick relatives.
- In fact, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that around 152 million children ages 5-17 have chosen work over education, deterred by secondary schools that are expensive and far away.
This results from families making the (unfortunately well-founded) conclusion that available education is too low in quality to justify high costs.In other families, females are kept from attending school due to social, cultural, or religious beliefs.
Males attend at higher rates but are often held back or drop out. Children with disabilities are especially less likely to receive an education, as most institutions don’t have the facilities to accommodate them. An estimated 5% of learning-disabled African children are enrolled in school, and it’s further estimated that the statistic would be 70% if facilities had suitable accommodations.
Even with these facilities, some children may be sent to communities to beg rather than to educational institutions to learn. Other disadvantaged groups in terms of educational attainment include indigenous populations, linguistic/ethnic/religious minorities, and children from areas of conflict.
These groups contribute to the 227 million secondary school-aged children and up to 115 million primary school-aged children not receiving an education. These children are often victims of educational poverty (less than four years of formal education) and extreme educational poverty (less than two years of education).
In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of all children are in educational poverty; and in Burkina-Faso and Somalia, more than half of children are in extreme educational poverty. In this region, children from the richest households complete a full twelve years of primary and secondary education in only four countries, whereas children from the poorest complete that same amount of education in no countries.
- In other words, more children have been denied the opportunity to receive an education than not.
- As a result, there are 750 million adults worldwide who, according to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, are unable to read or write.
- Increasing access to education is our only hope for decreasing that number.
ONETrack and Education In addition to household and healthcare essentials, we support the educational costs of children in our Transition to Home programs. This includes supplemental costs such as textbook and transportation fees. By aligning ourselves with the UN Millennium Development Goals of not only reducing poverty and childhood mortality but achieving universal education, we hope to find sustainable ways to improve the lives of children and the future of their communities.
- If you would like to donate to support the educational fees of children in our Transition to Home programs, please Venmo @ONETrack.
- References “15 Facts on Education in Developing Countries.” ACEI-Global, Academic Credentials Evaluation Institute, Inc., 6 Mar.2014, acei-global.blog/2014/03/06/15-facts-on-education-in-developing-countries/.
Can Africa afford free education? (2017, December 13). Retrieved July 14, 2019, from https://gemreportunesco.wordpress.com/2016/01/27/can-africa-afford-free-education/ Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Education in Developing Countries.23 Apr.2018, www.bmz.de/en/issues/Education/hintergrund/bildungsituation/.
Hillman, Arye L, and Eva Jenkner. Economic Issues No.33 – Educating Children in Poor Countries.2004, www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues/issues33/. Lowe, Samantha. “Which Countries Offer Free Primary Education?” Classroom, Leaf Group, 4 Apr.2017, classroom.synonym.com/countries-offer-primary-education-7998042.html.Schaffhauser06/12/17, Dian.
“Data: Education Isn’t Free Everywhere.” THE Journal, 1105 Public Sector Media Group, thejournal.com/articles/2017/06/12/data-education-isnt-free-everywhere.aspx. “United Nations Millennium Development Goals.” United Nations, United Nations, www.un.org/millenniumgoals/education.shtml.
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Why you shouldn’t save for college?
Why You Shouldn’t Save For Your Kid’s College Education On ‘How To Money’ By Diana Brown July 13, 2021 Many parents feel intense pressure to start saving for their child’s college education before they’re even out of onesies. But it might not be the best choice for you, your family, or even your kids. On this episode of, Matt and Joel talk about the benefits of not saving for your kid’s college, chiefly focusing on parents who probably haven’t maxed out their retirement accounts yet – they point out that on airplanes, you’re told to put your own oxygen mask on before helping others in the case of a crash.
- It’s the same with finances – if you aren’t in a strong financial position, saving for college is the wrong choice.
- Of course, there are parents out there who are feeling fine in the retirement department and are ready to start saving; if that’s the case, Matt and Joel tackle the pros and cons of 529 plans as well as other investment vehicles we can use to help pay for a higher education.
The main point is that while there are a million ways to save on college costs – scholarships, financial aid, part- or full-time jobs, military or public service, and so on – there is no assistance out there to pay for your retirement beyond whatever you manage to save during your working life.
So if you’re neglecting a retirement fund in favor of your kid’s college education, you may just be creating financial problems for yourself and your family down the road, when you can’t afford to stop working, or you don’t have enough saved to take care of yourself. We can’t count on social security alone, so make sure you’re beefing up your own savings and retirement accounts before you start putting money away for anyone else.
If you are in a strong financial position and starting to save, a 529 plan is a good option. They’re specifically made for college educations, so you don’t pay any tax on the earnings of the plan as long as they go toward qualified expenses. However, college isn’t the only option out there.
- Some kids grow up preferring a skilled blue-collar trade, or may want to start their own business.
- If you’re not sure your kid will go to college, a 529 plan isn’t so great; if the money isn’t spent on college, you have to pay hefty taxes and penalties to get it out of the 529, which can take a 22%-32% bite out of what you’ve earned.
You may want to consider more flexible options, like a Roth IRA or even investing in real estate. Matt and Joel have plenty of ideas; get all this great information and more on this episode of, If you want to be sure you’re listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered.
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Why should you not pay for college?
2. Widened Workforce – Along with technological progressions comes a shift in the workforce. Most automated jobs are replacing low-skill workers. Automation is spreading quickly across positions that require repetition, like back-office tasks. However, automation is not meant to replace the entire workforce.
- Instead, the needs of most economies are shifting to require a more skilled workforce, with people who have good analytical skills and creative thinking abilities.
- These skills are both taught and honed with a college education.
- If more people could attend college for free, then the workforce will expand.
The workforce will also be more agile. In the case of an economic downturn when one industry falters, another generally rises to replace it. Then, workers need to be retrained and taught skills for the job. If more people could enter school and gear their studies towards booming industries, then the population will be more equipped to cope with economic changes.
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How does education affect society?
Benefits of Education are Societal and Personal – Those who get an education have higher incomes, have more opportunities in their lives, and tend to be healthier. Societies benefit as well. Societies with high rates of education completion have lower crime, better overall health, and civic involvement.
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