Cost To Free Education

Is There a Cost to Free Education? Most families have the choice between public or private schooling and whether or not they pay for elementary and high school education. When it comes to college, however, many people struggle to find the money to attend and end up fighting for scholarships as well as gaining tens of thousands in student debt or giving up on post-secondary education as a whole. This leaves high school students and their families wondering: why is it so expensive, why can’t it be free? If college educations were tuition-free, student debt would not continue to crush the younger generations. The absence of debt also would decrease the harm done on young adults’ credit scores. They would be able to spend their money on cars,

“The Morrill Act of 1862 enabled land-grant colleges to be created by states on federal lands so that higher education could become available to Americans in every social class. The aim was ‘to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life.’ (National Academy of Sciences, 2017)”. Even though this happened when the American college student population was smaller, it still shows that it is possible. Land-grant colleges could serve as an option for those who wish to attend college but cannot afford it without the total dismissal of colleges that require tuition. Like high schools that provide a free public and costly private educations, those colleges would be a more available and inclusive yet small place for people to get their education. The Morrill Act of 1862 proved that with access to higher education, more people will seek post-secondary learning

The deduction from this information about the true cost of free education that can be made is that the pros of economic flow, job skill increase, lower debts, etc., outweigh the cons of funding it through other means. “Government will continue to provide public goods, at a level necessary to ensure a globally competitive economy and a well-functioning society. But wherever possible, government should invest in citizen capabilities to enable them to provide for themselves in rapidly and continually changing circumstances” (Slaughter, 2017). Our evolving job market and education system implore our government to provide to its people, to give back to those who feed its infrastructure and create an equal balance of learning and proving the material is learned through