Higher education has been faced with various issues, and the most common is the one relating to student funding. The federal and local governments have always worked to ensure that every student is in a position to gain higher education without facing financial constraints. Irrespective of the student’s background, the government has stepped forward to ensure that proper incentives have been provided to the learning institution to guarantee an appropriate cycle of learning without interruptions related to fees. Despite the efforts, students from low income backgrounds continue to struggle as they end up finding jobs which are unable to clear their loans and thus they are not in a position to sustain their livelihood. Therefore, this essay aims to establish why it is fundamental to waive student loans for students with low income and ensure they receive free college education.
There is a negative relationship which is currently in existence between college enrollment and students from low income backgrounds. Basing on the assertions by Oreopoulos and Petronijevic (2013), there are many pros which come along with the act of allowing free higher education for a student from poor backgrounds. Free education enables students to be free and explore their talents and skills without feeling constrained to a particular field. By nurturing such an environment, there is increased productivity in the entire nation, and equal opportunities are also granted to the students in the enrollment process. Necessarily, by encouraging free education, the government will be in a position to close in the corporate tax loopholes and thus make use of the money to finance the initiative. Overall, the move will work to present the student from poor background an opportunity to access education similar to their counterparts in a different social class thus fostering equality.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Moreover, there are low graduation rates among low income backgrounds compared to their counterparts in the wealthy social class. According to Hoxby and Avery (2013), there is a vast amount of untapped or hidden supply of greatness among the low-income students. Implicitly, the statement implies that the low-income students tend to face a lot of issues which hinders their ability to perform to their level best. Distractions like lack of money are a huge setback in their activities, and this is the reason some of them choose to drop out of the institution resulting in lower graduation rates.
Similarly, lack of enough funds makes the individual go for an associate degree before a bachelor’s as a result of increased college fees. The excessive learning charge and the little incentive from the government are more strenuous to the student in the long run (Oliff, Palacios, Johnson & Leachman, 2013). With the increased charge to pursue a degree, most of the low-income students are demoralized and this forces them to drop out of school. As a result, promoting free education in higher learning institutions will be a mechanism aimed at building morale for more individuals from low income to find solace in education. In this case, it is advisable to allow free education to the group of individuals.
On the contrary, student debt is a significant source of government revenue and thus positively aids the economy. Deming, Goldin and Katz (2012) attest to the fact that such a move is a nimble critter that helps to improve the economy by creating profits. Even though the economy grows from the loans, in the long run, there will be fewer employment opportunities and low levels of talent and skills nurturing. Notably, from the analysis of the different perspectives, advocating for a waiver in student loans for the group of individuals, there are a lot of merits than demerits which emanate from the activity.
References
Deming, D. J., Goldin, C., & Katz, L. F. (2012). The for-profit postsecondary school sector: Nimble critters or agile predators? Journal of Economic Perspectives , 26 (1), 139-64.
Hoxby, C., & Avery, C. (2013). The missing" one-offs": The hidden supply of high-achieving, low-income students. Brookings papers on economic activity , 2013 (1), 1-65.
Hoxby, C., & Turner, S. (2013). Expanding college opportunities for high-achieving, low income students. Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper , (12-014).
Oliff, P., Palacios, V., Johnson, I., & Leachman, M. (2013). Recent deep state higher education cuts may harm students and the economy for years to come. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , 1-21.
Oreopoulos, P., & Petronijevic, U. (2013). Making college worth it: A review of the returns to higher education. The Future of Children , 41-65.
