People take different attitudes towards the issue whether university students should be free to choose to learn whatever they like. While some people assert that the authority should choose the major of students, I tend to support the argument that students are entitled to choose whatever courses they like in university.
On the one hand, it is easy to understand why the government is reckoned to have its role to play in deciding students’ majors. The primary consideration is that it will increase the employment of university graduates. Given the fact that government departments have a more comprehensive overview of what the labor market needs, their choices, whether these be engineering, computer or medical science, maybe more practical than those courses favored by students. By contrast, the youth are prone to arts subjects such as literature or music, most of which are chosen in favor of their unrealistic imagination rather than sensible consideration of future job opportunities.
On the other hand, plausible though the suggestion seems, I would support the opinion that it is students who should choose the courses by their own judgement. The value of academic institutions, from my perspective, is far more than a simple incubator of skilled workers. Instead, what makes tertiary education meaningful is that it is a place where the younger generation can cultivate the spirit of freedom and learn to be independent thinkers rather than passive learners, who rely on others to plan their life. Meanwhile, not everyone has the same aptitude for the subject assigned to him or her, meaning that it would be a waste of money and time to force youngsters to learn a subject which might not suit their interests or capability.
In conclusion, it looks to me that government could provide guidance in students' choices of major, but such a practice should not be compulsory and students have the right to learn whatever they like.
