Is free education a right or an option? Does it help students or not? Should governments invest the big amount of public money into university system or there are better alternatives?
For these questions to be answered we invited two speakers, Gerard and Ozgun, to demonstrate their arguments. For the first time AEGEEDebate has launched a video online debate through Google Hangout+. We are looking forward to your feedback on this matter as well. Enjoy the new format of the debate!
Ivan Bielik
Concerning Gerad’s opinion: I agree with him that money spent in the educational system is not a simple payment but an investion. In my opinion it helps to adjust the same chances for everyone in order to equal out economical and social disbalances.
Concerning Ozgun’s opinion: The first declaration is that higher education (whic means here: universities) is optional. To me this seems to be dependent on the country one is talking about. My home country f. e., Germany, has not much natural ressources, so it must use brainpower as a “ressource” (this helped us to climb the ranks as Engineers Nation, however it seems that Germany is slowly dethrowned). So education can help to *increase* ecological welfare, hence putting educational costs on the expense bill only, is a wrong analysis i.m.h.o.
Social fonds as help for poor people will create also an expense, and I doubt that this will be much lower than just opening up the higher educational sector. In oder to prevent over-saturation of highly educated people (which I believe can actually occur) the standards of education must be elevated – so people who are “not clever enough” will recognize this very soon.
Concluding, I am in favour of an open educational system, for equality, quality and also economical reasons. Plus the simple fact that a highly developed country needs good people, no matter what income their parents have.
(And a small correction on Gerad’s introduction speech: Not *all* the education in Sweden is for free – the so called “komvux”, as I was told in a language course here in Sweden, must be paid privately. For “komvux” – english Wikipedia)
Hi;
You know Debates are not Forums so, i joined it for different brain storming.
I also agree with the topic but i want to open new areas for ”Free Education” topic because i’m working on this topic long time and i saw this is not so easy. And in Gezi Park protests in Istanbul, we also wanted to free education. Yes we have rights but goverments don’t think like us and if we want create a huge pressure for this right we should know some rules and realities. İf we’re not i think ”Free Education for Everyone” dream will only be an optimist dreams.
This ideasn which i explained in video are combine of some realities and bad thoughts which i faced while i was working on this topic.
Thank you for your attention.
Özgün K.
AEGEE – Istanbul
Which bad experiences did you face during your work on this topic?
Maybe this would make it easier for us to understand your opposing position.
‘should’s are not practical.