Education is one of the essential things in people's lives because it helps them develop better skills, get lucrative jobs, and better life opportunities. It is a valued necessity because it also influences different aspects of the life of people. Education benefits not only a person but also the overall economy of the nation. Apart from helping a person develop better skills, education also improves the nation's health because, through education, most people can take care of themselves. As much as education provides various benefits to people, not everyone can afford education in the United States. Many poor individuals are smart, intelligent, and able, but their poverty level does not permit them to achieve an education. Life would be better for these individuals if they are given a chance to join learning institutions. Therefore, this paper seeks to describe the ethical side of free education. It will further elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of having free education.
Ethically, it is unfair to provide some individuals with an opportunity to study while denying others the same opportunity. From an ethical perspective, opportunities ought to be open for all individuals. Paying for education implies that wealthy people are given opportunities, whereas poor individuals are denied those opportunities of having an education. In this case, poor individuals will not afford education for their qualified children, but the rich will educate their children in the best schools, which is ethically unfair (Barman, McGrath & Stöhr, 2019). Free education for all individuals, regardless of the class, will mean equality in opportunities. Giving free education ensures that talented and intelligent students can gain assurance of a better future through optimizing their potential in academics.
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Additionally, denying the poor better opportunities means broadening the inequality gap between the rich and the poor, which deteriorates the nation's economy. Free education will remedy the ills of the society that is divided by wealth. The society comprises of the rich, middle-income group and poor people. Through education, the ills that plague the society will be remedied because education opens up doors that lead to employment. Through it, people can afford a better quality of life, shelter, and food. Therefore, offering free education to the poor will ensure that these poor people step out to have quality lives.
More so, free education assists people that cannot afford money to make their future bright. It will increase students' concentration from poor backgrounds because they will not worry about their family lives but concentrate on their studies to expand their knowledge. As opined by Carlson (2016), when their focus moves to learn, it will encourage youths to develop a scholarly society. Therefore, it is significant to allow everyone to enjoy the fruits of a good education for equal development of the nation. Equal development of the nation can only be achieved when education is free for all individuals from all walks of life. Providing free education to people also ensures better governance. More educated individuals in the country ensure that the government rules them effectively from the local level to the federal level. They make appropriate choices in selecting their representatives and question their leaders concerning the misuse of power and corruption. By encouraging free education, people will prod society towards the path of better governance.
Education helps people to learn about their rights. In some poor regions in the world, some people's rights are ignored owing to their perception of each other. As opined by Sobel (2012), education empowers women and helps them know and understand their rights and fight for them. In this regard, education acts as a weapon that enables people to deal with poverty. Likewise, it is a tool that can be used to expand the economy of a nation. If all individuals are educated, many of them will acquire well-paying jobs, and they will be able to pay taxes as well as give back to the society. The government will benefit from the taxes paid by these people. Free education will also help people to get jobs rather than doing nothing with their lives. In the United States, people that ended their education at the high school level do not acquire full-time jobs and live independently. Therefore, free education will assist these people in getting full-time jobs and live independently after that.
On the other hand, making education free for all individuals will mean that someone has to pay for it, and in this case, the government will have to pay for free education. It is physically impossible for the government to ensure that learning institutions deliver quality education while charging students nothing. Therefore, the government will be forced to increase taxes or cut some of its services. It is not fair to eliminate vital services to fund education, and therefore the government will have to transfer the burden to other individuals by increasing taxes. Increasing taxes is not also fair to people because it will minimize their freedoms for the sake of providing education to the minority. Personal freedoms are directly related to economic freedoms. By reducing people's disposable income through increasing taxes, these people’s available family options will be decreased across the country. Besides, if taxes are not raised, education quality will be reduced because the government will not be in a position to offer basic quality education. With every individual educated, no one will be interested in the low paying jobs.
Free education may also mean numerous problems and a need for learning institutions to satisfy students' needs. Learning institutions will require more classrooms, dormitories, and labs, which will overwhelm the state's spending plan. According to Rapp and Arndt (2012) , if all education is free, people may waste their life on meaningless education studying for qualifications that they do not need.
Conclusively, education ought to be free for everyone. Free education for all people allows people to acquire fruits of a good education, eradicate poverty, and further narrow the inequality gap between the poor and the rich. More so, free education for everyone teaches individuals their rights, enhances their living standards, and expounds the nation's economy. Apart from improving people’s lives, free education can contribute to equal opportunities, improve quality of life, and encourages people to focus on learning. As much as it may be quite expensive for the government to provide free education for all people, the advantages of free education outweigh the disadvantages. The disadvantages of free education, such as inadequate facilities in the learning institutions and increased taxes, should not undermine the benefits free education has brought. It is significant for the government to let everyone in the country to access free education.
References
Barman, L., McGrath, C., & Stöhr, C. (2019). Higher Education; For Free, For Everyone, For Real? Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the Responsible University: History and Enacting Rationalities for MOOC Initiatives at Three Swedish Universities.
Carlson, S. (2016). Should everyone go to college. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Rapp, W. H., & Arndt, K. L. (2012). Teaching everyone: An introduction to inclusive education. Brookes Publishing Company. PO Box 10624, Baltimore, MD 21285.
Sobel, A. E. (2012). Should Everyone Go to College?. Computer , (10), 82-83.
