In certain places, every national can be educated at a higher education institution free of charge. The main benefits of free education are more educated workforce for country’s economic growth and a decrease in student debt. The main drawbacks are increased tax burdens and poor quality of education.
One primary advantage of studying at no cost in universities is that every citizen could study in equal, so economic growth of the country will rise rapidly through more educated workers. Another advantage of this is that students don’t have to take out loans for their education. Over the past years, the cost of attending university has increased significantly. Therefore, most students who could not afford to pay education fees had to take debts, leading to stressful beginnings in their careers. In Sweden, for example, because of free education, graduates can enter the workforce without the financial strain of repaying student loans.
One disadvantage for education without charge is the possibility of having difficulty for residents in paying taxes. This is because, free university education can cause more pressure on government’s budget, after which government attempt to offset the cost by raising taxes. Moreover, the universities might have overcrowded classrooms provoked by a great number of students. For this reason, quality of education might decrease considerably. For example, Argentina saw a significant increase in enrollment, the rapid growth in student numbers, strained resources and congested classrooms, after providing free university education, which has led to concerns about the quality of education.
In conclusion, the main benefits of studying without charge are the growth for country’s economy and starting a career without thinking about debts after graduating, and the key drawbacks are that inhabitants have to pay high amount of taxes and inferior quality of teaching and learning.