Education opens a key to limitless opportunities in the job markets. People need the knowledge to navigate their way through the several stumbling blocks they encounter in life. However, some people have access to this precious commodity while others cannot afford it. This statement argues whether college should be paid for or made accessible for each person. College should be made free to widen the workforce and promote equality. On the other hand, students should pay college fees to increase a country’s tax levels and help in insisting on its importance.
Making college accessible will widen the workforce, given there is a daily technological progression. There is a shift in some workplaces as automated jobs replace low-skilled professionals (Jimenez, 2020). This change does not mean replacing all workers but a difference in a more skilled workforce with pleasant analytical and creative thinking skills and abilities. Most of these skills are provided in colleges; therefore, making them accessible will reduce job losses in the future (Lovett, 2019). A widened workforce will help elevate an economy on the verge of collapsing. Therefore, college education needs to be free to keep the country’s economy afloat and reduce job losses.
A free college admission will result in an equal society. People need to understand that affordability is an issue in society. The playing field is always skewed, as everyone cannot receive the same treatment and access the same privileges. Raj et al. indicate that the brightest minds are primarily from low-income households (2019). Therefore, college fees should not hinder achieving their dreams and improving their families’ living conditions. Equal opportunity in college will enable each student to be given a chance to have a brighter future (Jones and Berger, 2018). Promoting equality in society can therefore start with offering an affordable education system.
On the other hand, college fees will enable a country to increase its tax levels. Action argues that there is not enough money to support the free college system in America. Taxes from other professions and industries cannot sustain the country’s economy, let alone support all college entering students (2021). Other parts of the economy will be taxed more with free college admission, which the victims will not accept. The result of increased taxation is the development of classes which many states try to reduce. Therefore, no person wants to carry the burden of educating a capable person through heavy taxation (Andersen, 2022). College students have to pay the fees to equalize the taxation levels.
College fees increase the value of the knowledge acquired from these institutions. College studies and degrees could be devalued if it becomes free since students will not understand the value of the money used (Millea et al., 2018). People tend to be serious when they know they need to get an output in whatever they invested. College students will be driven to work harder when they know they have something to lose if they fail. Newfield indicates that currently, students want to finish their studies soon to avoid the accumulation of debt from the fees governments pay in college. Without the financial implication, students will likely portray a lackadaisical behavior and laziness (2018). Therefore, college fee is essential in increasing the value of college-acquired knowledge.
In conclusion, different arguments can be tabled on the need to pay for or make college education accessible. One can argue college is free due to widening the workforce and increasing equality in society. With the advancement in technology, there is the need to have a skilled workforce, while removing the fee creates a fairground for all classes to learn. On the other hand, the price should be paid to avoid the devaluation of college studies and increase in taxes in a country. Students will value what they are paying for rather than a free one, and governments get their income by taxing the student fees.
References
Andersen, E. (2022). Why Should College Be Free? College Raptor. Web.
Jimenez, L. (2020). Preparing American Students for the Workforce of the Future: Ensuring Every Student’s Readiness for College, Career, and Civic Life. Center for American progress.
Lovett, C. M. (2019). Worlds apart: young Americans in college and their contemporaries in the workforce and the military. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 51(6), 66-70.
Raj, A., Kumra, T., Darmstadt, G. L., & Freund, K. M. (2019). Achieving gender and social equality: more than gender parity is needed. Academic Medicine, 94(11), 1658-1664.
Jones, T., & Berger, K. (2018). A promise fulfilled: A framework for equitable free college programs.
Acton, R. (2021). Effects of reduced community college tuition on college choices and degree completion. Education Finance and Policy, 16(3), 388-417.
Millea, M., Wills, R., Elder, A., & Molina, D. (2018). What matters in college student success? Determinants of college retention and graduation rates. Education, 138(4), 309-322.
Newfield, C. (2018). The great mistake: How we wrecked public universities and how we can fix them. Johns Hopkins University Press.