Introduction
Education has played a significant role in the creation of the modern civilization across the world (Bank, 2014). Therefore, based on this aspect education has established itself as one of the most important phases of life especially for the modern society. Also, growth and development naturally involves various aspects of learning. However, in this case, the paper seeks to discuss the topic on whether education should be free for everyone with an exclusive focus on formal education. As much as formal education has proved to be important, not all human beings are successful in getting access to it due to the high expenses attached to the course. The paper seeks to defend the position that education should be free for everyone.
Causes and sociological explanations of the problem
Education should be made free for everyone, because it has a huge impact in transformation of the human life in different dimensions within socioeconomic boundaries (Johansson & Wadenatein, 2010). However, as much as education is significant, the rising costs of acquiring education have hindered many learners from getting quality education and advancing to higher education institutions to pursue courses of their interest. Therefore, different societies across the world are faced by the challenge of increasing rates of the uneducated within the society. This is a serious social problem whose gravity can be discussed through different sociological theories which explain the importance of education from a social perspective; hence creating a clear picture of what lack of the same could do to the society.
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The Functionalism social theory gives a stress on the social functions of education which help different societies meet their needs (Blackledge & Hunt, 2019). Most fundamentally, socialization is the peak of the effect of education. The modern civilization is guided by different norms, values, cultures, and skills which are purposed to be passed from one generation to the other, to maintain culture and traditions over decades. In this sense, education is a key tool through which such aspects can be carried and transmitted to children while growing up, who will on turn transfer to the next generation when they become adults. For instance, in the American society, apart from reading and writing, children are taught about American values such as social democracy, equality, personal liberty, justice and fairness, and unhindered freedom.
Also, based on the Functionalism theory, social integration is a critical role of education within the society. According to the foundation of functionalism, the ability of a society to thrive in all aspects, its members must be subscribers to a common set of values, beliefs, and mindset. A reflection of the nature of education in the early nineteenth century also supports this line of thought: education was free and mandatory for everyone. The United States government back then made this decision so that every American could ultimately contribute positively to the socioeconomic growth of their society.
Another key function of education is social placement. Early education stepping stones from the kindergarten to the grade school categorize learners as either active and bright, or educationally challenged and inactive. Based on this grouping, the teachers and other staff are able to undertake different approaches that are specific to the unique needs of each learner. Therefore, the children grow up with the right mentality about different aspects of the world: hence, preparing them for the future. Social and cultural innovation is another primary role played by education. Innovation and creativity is influenced by knowledge in a given subject upon which the innovated object is based: this knowledge can only be acquired through education. For instance, musicians, painters, scientists, technologists, among others cannot create and innovate without education. Based on this discussion, it is evident how disastrous things can turn out if the world stops to go to school today for not affording the ever growing surges i costs associated with education.
Factors (structural, cultural, interactional, and political, etc.) contribute to the existence of the problem
The high cost of education across the world is caused by two factors: politics, and the natural forces of demand and supply (Barry & Dannenberg, 2016). Political structures impact the cost of education in various ways. Most importantly, the National government and state governments have different jurisdictions on their contributions to education which commonly is funding. However, a huge proportion of the state funds provided do not significantly impact the economic situation of the parent or guardian sending their children to school. For instance, the state funding for colleges and universities in the United States is low to the extent that the management of these institutions struggle in meeting operational costs. Therefore, the extra cost is transferred to the students in form of tuition fees.
The world population has been on a steady increase trend over the years, hence increasing demand for education. However, while demand for education increases, the available resources in terms of educators, learning material, and infrastructure cannot fully support the numbers. Therefore, the prices of material, learning resources, and infrastructure increases hence hindering learners from poor backgrounds from accessing education. Additionally, due to the growing demand, student needs also increase: for instance, laptops as learning resources which also contribute to high costs of accessing quality education.
Actions, on the part of society or within the power structure of society, may be able to address this problem
Different stakeholders within the society understand the need and importance of having an educated society, thus, they have established different remedies to fix the problem and allow more children to join institutions of learning. Governments across the world have developed financial aid platforms in the form of student loans which are available for college students (Shireman, 2017). These student loans are offered at friendly rates of interest which only begin accruing after completion of studies. Also, the student is required to repay the loan only after acquiring a job.
Non-Governmental Organizations have also joined the wagon through supporting students to access all levels of formal education through scholarship and sponsorship programs. These programs take care of the students' welfare as they pursue their studies uninterrupted. While some offer full sponsorship, other give partial funding in a move to support the parent or guardian funding the tuition fee of the student in question. Financial institutions such as banks and microfinance firms have also introduced special loans with low interests meant specifically for supporting students in schools. As much as these loans need to be repaid, they are instrumental in helping children access education first.
Personal Opinion
The challenge of rising costs of education cannot be fully solved. Although different stakeholders have input efforts of different magnitudes to solve the problem, the increasing population and demand for education surpasses the support given. Millions of children who are prepared to join the system of education established in their respective countries are born every day around the world. On the other hand, only a few thousands of organizations exist with the will to support children access education. Additionally, the financial aids channeled through issuing of loans by organizations and governments have grown to become unpopular due to harassment to repay when in the first place the aid was given out of financial lacking of the subjects. In the same vein, most organizations giving loans to students do it for business purposes.
Lastly, education comes at a price which encompasses payments to the educators, purchases of resources, and general infrastructure such as classrooms. Therefore, it is not sensible to have completely free education because some form of funding has to exist. Based on this view, possible actions might only be restricted to waivers, and subsidies, and not complete writing off of tuition fees. Otherwise, no teacher will be ready to go teach without pay.
Conclusion
Education dates back several centuries and has undergone growth over the years. Over these years, communities and individuals have benefited from education in different ways both socially and economically. Therefore, everyone deserves to have access to education. However, the cost of acquiring education has been on a steep rise in the recent past thus hindering several children who cannot afford to pay for expensive tuition fees. The society has put in several efforts to fix the high costs but these remedies are counter in nature; hence the problem does not really go away but rather lessening the mild effects. Since education is crucial in growing a society, serious action needs to be taken and if possible it should be made free for everyone: this has been done before in the nineteenth century in the United States and proves beneficial. As much as times have changed, still, people and governments can pull resources together and make this happen although they have to be ready to face the consequences that come with such extreme actions.
References
Janks, H. (2014). Critical literacy's ongoing importance for education. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 57(5), 349-356.
Johansson, B., FOGELBERG ‐ DAHM, M. A. R. I. E., & Wadensten, B. (2010). Evidence ‐ based practice: the importance of education and leadership. Journal of nursing management, 18(1), 70-77.
Blackledge, D., & Hunt, B. (2019). Sociological interpretations of education. Routledge.
Barry, M. N., & Dannenberg, M. (2016). Out of pocket: The high cost of inadequate high schools and high school student achievement on college affordability. Education Reform Now.
Shireman, R. (2017). Learn now, pay later: A history of income-contingent student loans in the United States. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 671(1), 184-201.
