The proposition that students must bear the entire fee of higher education is predicated on the assumption that universities give the top priorities over individuals rather than society. From my perspective, I partly agree with this statement for the following reasons.
On the one hand, forcing students to pay all the tuition fees for their own studies would help them have a more profound awareness and responsibility for their studies without a doubt. As they have to incur a high cost monthly at their school, they would have an unprecedented opportunity to develop self-discipline and motivation to deserve it with the amount of money, especially in a developing country, where universities are unable to bear all the fees. As a result, the rate of students graduating, to a certain extent, would be significant. In contrast, some students who are subsidized by universities for the full cost of attendance would not take their studies too seriously; they sometimes attend the school or study desultorily. For example, the statistics of the percentage of students managing to graduate from universities show that the public ones are almost higher than the other, funded by the government. It is needless to say that not subsidizing the full cost of students’ own study is such a great way to help them escalate their awareness and accountability in their studies at school. However, it fails to factor in the availability of each individual and also the socioeconomic climate.
On the other hand, I assume that ignoring and forcing all the students to bear the entire study cost is short-sighted and unstable. Not considering the students’ background is synonymous with undermining their access to education, as many of them were born in a disadvantaged background, and with their own talent and a desire to study, would be left behind with limited opportunities in their future. There also appears to be a consequence of economic and educational disparities in many regions, especially in rural settings. As a result, many people who cannot bear all the study cost would give up their studies, facing the high risks of unemployment, which also significantly contributes to the rise in the jobless rate in the nation. A compelling case in point is America; besides the study cost at university, the government also imposes tax on students, which puts more and more strain on them, making many of them unable to afford the fees, drastically decreasing the human capital in fields and national competitiveness. This emphasizes the significance of universities to fund and support students in their tuition fees, opening many opportunities for them to develop and helping to improve national competitiveness and economic growth.
In conclusion, students play an imperative role in the intellectual backbone of national growth and development, especially in today’s knowledge revolution, so that giving greater priorities to society rather than individuals can ultimately exploit the labor force in the future, bringing many potentials for the country to enter the era of rising up.