Schools should not charge students any tuition fees. Education must be totally subsidized by the government.

To what extent to do agree or disagree?                              (Balanced)

Whether education expenses should be covered by the government or be paid by pupils has seemingly been a source of contention in the present age. Although I assume free education can trigger some problems, this essay will also shed light on the advantages of adopting such a policy.

To begin with, an unsubsidized education system would simply be too costly for governments to be maintained for long-term. Hence families may have to start paying much higher taxes, which could hurt the economy since people might have less to spend or invest. Moreover, should the process of learning and teaching at school be free, there may be a concern that some might not study hard to make the most of their education. They are likely to drop out before getting a high school diploma; therefore, they are not well-prepared for jobs after graduation. It is a universally-acknowledged truth that people appreciate something they must pay for more than what is offered for free.

However, free education empowers low income brackets, most of whom can hardly make ends meet, to send their children to school without being worried about financial problems. Take China as a case in point. Were it not due to government subsidies in the most populous country in the world, half of the population would be illiterate with irreversible consequences, one of which might be high rate of juvenile delinquency. What is particularly noteworthy about not charging students is ensuring fairness in the community as the vast majority of children will have an equal chance to unleash their true potential.

In conclusion, taking all benefits and drawbacks into account, I would concede that a large number of people in the globe are already suffering from economic and social inequalities and not subsidizing education is very likely to exacerbate the situation.

Hamid Mollazadeh

Time: 45 minutes

Word count: 300

Schools should not charge students any tuition fees. Education must be totally subsidized by the government.

To what extent to do agree or disagree?                                  (Strong)

We are living in a world where education plays a key role in shaping successful nations. Unlike those who advocate asking pupils for tuition fees, I would argue that education should be free due to the reasons on which this essay will elaborate.

First and foremost, free education is essential as it is likely to help guarantee every student in a country some level of education irrespective of their social class, skin color or financial capabilities, meaning each child has an equal opportunity to access education on the same scale. Pursuing a similar approach, the US, South Korea and Japan not only have the least number of illiterate citizens but also create equality among learners to be able to continue their education in higher levels. Nonetheless, in other parts of the world namely India and Africa knowledge-seekers have to pay to realize their educational dreams, so not all families have the chance to send their adolescents to learning centers, the result of which is high illiteracy rate. Statistics issued by the World Bank and UNESCO indicate that girls with little or no education are more likely to marry before the age of 18, suffer domestic violence and live in poverty.

Furthermore, adopting the policy empowers children to have a positive perspective and a more optimistic outlook about life. To put it simply, when no tuition is charged, the gap between the haves and the have nots will not be widened which in turn can help provide security in the future. Take Scandinavian countries as an example. They are among the most secure places in the world because education is not only compulsory but also free. Hence unemployment rate is low and the community can live a crime-free life.

(However, proponents of charging students tuition highlight the heavy burden of financing education system that will be imposed on governments’ shoulder, which I assume is not justifiable so long as people pay taxes.)

To sum it up, should pupils be not charged, more children will have the opportunity to fulfill their potential; or else, inequality may grow and future cannot be promising.