Is college appropriate or should it be mandatory for all citizens

¶ … College Is Appropriate or Should Be Mandatory for All Citizens

Education Debate:

It is a fact that school is successfully made mandatory for all citizens not only in the U.S. But also all over the world, after the human rights recognized the right to education as a fundamental human right. Thus the school education which equips the people to the basics of human thought and ways to work is mandatory. There have been no issues in the making of school education compulsory. In fact it has brought about a lot of benefits for the citizen and the nation as a whole. However the diversity of the population has brought in the controversy of language and the medium of delivery and learning of languages. These issues are going to be compounded in the case of higher learning. The question of making compulsory a college education for every individual can be approached from the view point of what benefits it will provide, and who will bear the costs. The cost apart the concept of specialization itself is changing.

Needs:

There is a need for all individuals to continuously learn to interpret the changing information and how to apply the changes in their lives and in the workplace. The method of transforming information to useful knowledge is an art that can be cultivated by intense training mostly at colleges. The solution for this, rather than a compulsory education is a continuing education. There must be continuing education for those who have not gone to college to adapt to the changes and upgrade skills. This can be achieved by adult education and the government and employers have to insist on life long learning and developing education programs that can continue all through life. (Gray, David Edward; Griffin, 133)

Thus a vocational training that goes beyond school may be adequate in most cases where the school dropout has landed in a vocation of choice but the need to become skilled is ever present. However the question if college needs to be made compulsory can be answered in the negative. This is because the school imparts education that is comprehensive while on a higher level the education is a choice of the student -- what he or she finds useful and attractive. This involves cost and where individuals can afford the cost they go for specialized education. In the case of poor, making the college education mandatory will also require funding and this is going to create problems and inequalities. Secondly compulsion can only be made to join a college but cannot be made to continue or pursue a particular course. So what will then happen is that the popular courses will have more demand while many other courses will be shunned resulting in a paradox that cannot be solved. (Skilbeck; Connell; Lowe; Tait, 228)

Thus the compulsory college is not a required method, on the other hand continuing education is. This can be achieved by creating more open universities, adult education centers and informal learning venues. Companies can be encouraged to provide employees with the facility to upgrade skills in the spare time. It can lead to a degree, but other than the necessity of the individual's employment or his or her personal interests, compulsory higher education is liable to fail. This is also because the funding problems will always persist. One of the general arguments is for the liberal education for all youth in such a manner that they become more effective in the modern industrial setting and the education must be practical and must suit the vocational calling of the student. This it is argued that it would provide for a better workforce eliminating the 'low-skilled, unemployed young people.' (Skilbeck; Connell; Lowe; Tait, 228)

In the market-based societies like UK and USA the need to create a skilled workforce makes the contemplation of compulsory college education a very important consideration. So if a student goes for work after school and does not enter college, will that bring about a loss for the nation? While there is a need for high degree of skill and specialization does it warrant a compulsory college education? One important consideration is funding. Even without making it compulsory, colleges and universities are in dire need of funds and one source is the willing learner who pays the high fees. Even then it is reported that in the UK for example most universities are under funded, and the students are not affluent and the higher education funding causes poor national economic performance. (Barr; Crawford, 269)