In view of the fact that people who have college qualifications may enjoy prospects of higher earnings, some people, therefore, argue that tuition fees should be paid all by students themselves rather than be partially compensated by the government. Personally, I do not agree.
One of the reasons is that paying the full cost means students from underprivileged families may find it impossible to afford the tuition fees required by the university. As a consequence, the drop-out rate among lower-income families might be increased. Worse still, the gap between the rich and the poor may be further enlarged since receiving higher education has always been regarded as a prerequisite of obtaining jobs with higher earnings.
The second reason of not paying the full cost is that higher education is for public good, by which I mean ensuring that citizens receive higher education is crucial for social advances, not only for personal development. As a matter of fact, no matter what kind of occupation we have in the future, we will contribute to the country in our own way, such as being a tax-payer.
Admittedly, if college tuition is all paid by students themselves, the burden of the government will obviously be relieved. Therefore, more financial resources will be devoted to other civil constructions, such as building subways or medical care, which is also a way of making citizens’ lives much easier.
To summarize, I am firmly convinced of that students should not pay the full cost of their college studies mainly because of the possible financial difficulties which will be faced by underpaid families as well as the nature of higher education.
