Governments should offer a free university education to any student who has been admitted to a university but who cannot afford the tuition Write a response in which you discuss your views on the policy and explain your reasoning for the position you take

University education has long been an essential factor for the personal and career development for young people. However, except for the individuals who are not qualified for higher education, numerous high school graduates from lower socioeconomic classes cannot afford the tuition, which raises the question of equality and justice. As a result, there is a seemingly reasonable proposal that governments should cover tuition costs for students who are offered a place to study in a university but are financially incapable. However, several consequences are likely to render the suggestion impractical.

Admittedly, we cannot ignore the benefits of a free college education. Among the youngsters whose families suffer from the economic hardship in paying higher education expenses, some gifted ones may lose their lifetime opportunity to become the elites in specific fields. Suppose the government provides free university education to all admitted students with financial difficulties. In that case, society can benefit from the achievements these talents can make after they graduate from universities and become experts in various fields. Also, if governments can foot the university bills, they consequently bring hope for families in poverty. As a result, those teenagers would be more than willing to continue their academic studies in the university rather than inevitably enter the labor market after high school graduation. In the long term, the percentage of well-educated adults within the whole society will gradually increase, which eventually improves national productivity. Furthermore, because the education subsidy sends out a signal of equal opportunity for higher education, the policy encourages all students to dedicate to academic life to raise their odds of enrolling in a university. Even if some of them fail to pass the university entrance exam, they will have already formed the fundamental moral principle and positive perspectives on society, resulting in social stability and prosperity.

However, it is challenging to implement this policy. Due to the enormous administrative difficulties, it is almost impossible to fairly judge every family’s financial situation. More concretely, to have the “free lunch”, some families may fabricate the paperwork related to their actual income, savings and property. Unfortunately, neither the governments nor the universities have enough human resources to visit the families who apply for this subsidy one by one before the closure of annual enrollment. Besides, some government officials who are in charge of approving the subsidy application may come up with the idea of taking bribes from the applicants, which will deprive those impoverished students of the chance that they could be financially aided by the government to actualize their academic pursuit. Under the current policies, students with limited financial means can usually afford university education through loans. If governments provide a free college education to all qualified students, however, they may lose the motivation to work hard in university as they do not have the pressure of finding a decent job to pay back their student loans.

Moreover, this kind of financial support may create a heavy burden on the government’s budget. Since the amount of taxation is limited, if the government assumes the responsibility of covering the cost of higher education for penniless students, less financial resources will be available for sustaining social welfare. Therefore, absent ample unemployment benefits, cities would become breeding grounds for crimes, such as shoplifting or robbery. A lack of medical insurance would dramatically lower the chances of survival for people who develop serious illnesses. Without sufficient pensions, seniors would barely make ends meet. Hence, governments are unable to allocate their financial support to make everybody happy. In actuality, if the public welfare cannot be satisfied in the first place, a subsequent social upheaval may paralyze the whole education system, making universities suspend classes and thus invalidating the policy. In other words, for the distribution of governments funding, social welfare always takes priority over covering the tuition for needy students.

In conclusion, considering the advantage of improving national productivity and stability, providing financial assistance to admitted students who cannot pay for university tuition seems persuasive under certain conditions. However, owing to the possible consequences this policy would lead to, it is still inappropriate for governments to follow the proposal.