higher education should be free for all

Outline I. Thesis: Public education until grade 12 is already free; given that a high school education is no longer sufficient for most jobs, it is time to make college education free too. II. One of the main reasons why public higher education, such as college and university, should be free for everyone is that it promotes the values of equal opportunity in education. III.

It is actually more cost-effective and better for the economy to offer free higher education to all students, to reduce the debt crisis and promote the economic empowerment of all citizens. IV. Free higher education would be an incentive for all high school students to achieve their goals, thereby improving the overall quality of life in the nation. V. Education should be free for everyone for ethical, financial, and social reasons.

Why Higher Education Needs to Be Free For Everyone For well over a century, the United States has offered its citizens access to a free public school education. A grade school education was at one point considered sufficient to prepare a person for entry into the job market, or to be equipped with the social and practical skills needed to thrive. Yet a high school education is no longer sufficient.

The increasingly competitive global job market is making it tougher for persons without a college degree to compete, making it so that a college education is now mandatory for many people. Making the leap from free grade school to free college education is not so great, considering that most state schools already receive some public funding, as do community colleges. Moreover, providing free tuition for all students upholds the basic tenets of equal rights and equal opportunity.

Free education is also surprisingly cost-effective, reducing the public debt and improving access to viable jobs that will grow the economy. A more educated public will also lead to improved quality of life in America. Public education until grade 12 is already free; given that a high school education is no longer sufficient for most jobs, it is time to make college education free too. Equal opportunity is one of the strongest ethical arguments in favor of free education for all Americans.

It is time to view higher education as a fundamental human right, not as a luxury available only to those who can afford it, or have access to loans (Page and Clawson 1). In fact, offering free college education would actually be an extension of the already free public education system. Access to free higher education could mean opening community colleges and state colleges to students (Goldrick-Rab and Kelley 1). All students should have equal educational opportunities, and education no longer ends in high school but continues for years to come.

Students who want to attend college or university struggle financially, which is another reason why higher education should be free. Free education would reduce the amount of student loan debt, which only serves to benefit the interest-generating financial institutions and not the students they purportedly invest in. Offering government-funded higher education would seem like a huge burden at first, but would pay off through the generation of more lucrative jobs in the economy and a more productive work force (Page and Clawson 1).

With fewer cash-strapped students, the graduation rates would be higher and so too would the transition from college to graduate school or career. In fact, offering free higher education would improve quality of life throughout America. In fact, the United States lags behind many other nations in part because of inequitable access to higher education: “failure to fund higher education means that America’s economy is unable to compete with other developed nations that have free universities,” (Samuels 1).

Free education for all students would potentially reduce rates of crime due to strain.