Government and Schools Fees

The question of whether a country’s government should pay the school fees of all the students raises a serious debate. Some claim that the government should pay the school fees of all the students from the nursery level to the college level. This paper argues that the developing and the developed countries governments should not pay school fees for all the students up to the highest level. It argues that developed countries governments should pay school fees up to the primary level and in higher levels. On the other hand, the developing world governments should establish programs that only cater for the less privileged to ensure they get educated. This helps these governments to avoid budget deficits while t the same time helping parents to be responsible.

Parents should pay fees for their children to fulfill their social responsibility. Every parent should know that getting a child comes with social responsibilities. These responsibilities include providing the basic need to the children like the medical and the educational needs. The knowledge among the parents of the responsibility makes them responsible citizens. It allows them to get jobs and earn a pay to meet these needs. If they know that the government will meet the needs for their children, some parents will not work hard. In turn, this will affect the country’s gross domestic product in a negative way. On the other hand, each parent is responsible for meeting the needs of their children. The government can commit the national income to other projects that yield income to the nation. This, in turn, serves to increase the economic performance of a nation.

When parents know that they bear the fees of their children, they are able to practice family planning. They only bear the children whom they can afford to raise with their income. If the government pays the fees, the parents can get engage in irresponsible child bearing. This would result from the fact that they would know the children are the responsibility of other people. The irresponsibility will bring other problems like overpopulation in a nation. Overpopulation will bring forth a shortage of resources within a nation, which will bring forth an economic restraint. Other problems that are associated with overpopulation include poor sanitation. Poor sanitation, on the other hand, leads to many illnesses and diseases. Thus, in the end, the nation will have a large, unhealthy population and the government resources will be highly strained.

The government should not pay the citizen school fees so as not to experience deficits in the country’s economy. This is especially so in the developing countries, which depend on aids from other nations. These governments are exceptionally poor to meet all the needs of the student’s education up to college level. These governments in the third world countries depend on foreign aid for feeding the citizens. This would mean that they would have to borrow more to educate students. In essence, this is highly impractical and instead each parent should cater for the needs of his or her own children. This will rid the government of unnecessary burdens.

The government, however, should implement measures that ensure that students access education. The government ensures that the fees, set in schools, are affordable. This will ensure that none of the students is locked out of the schooling system, which is a basic need. The government can do this by ensuring that there are the national education committees that set highly affordable fees. This should incorporate even the poor parents, so they afford to educate their children. The government should also offer further incentives to the students to ensure that the fees are remarkably affordable (Julius & Thomas, 1996).

The government in poor countries especially the third world countries should also set programmers that cater for the less fortunate students. These include issuance of bursaries to allow them to access education just like any other children. This should apply from the kindergarten level in the case of the destitute children who need to go school, but they cannot afford. The category that should be considered in this is the orphans and children, whose guardians are unable to support them. The inability of these guardians should be well established, and the factors to be considered should be well laid down. In the implementation, these committees should be set to check the details of the students. To verify the genuineness of their cases, the governing authorities should verify this by inserting their signatures in the cases.

The governments that have plenty of resources like the developed countries governments should offer free education to a certain level. This can be in such schools as the local public schools. However, this, in turn, makes public schools so overpopulated. This, in turn, affects the quality of education that is offered in the public schools. The resources such as books, furniture, and teachers are increased. In such cases, the government should be ready to meet all these costs.

The role of the government, when it does not pay fees, is still significant. The roles in this case include ensuring that public schools are up to standard. The government can do this by ensuring that public schools, colleges, and universities have the necessary amenities. They should also ensure the teachers are well qualified to educate students. It should be enough of teachers to handle the situations in schools. The government should also ensure that the learning systems are upgraded in public schools.

The other measure that the government can use is to charge slightly more money from the children who have rich backgrounds. This would ensure that the rich parents aid in helping the poor children who would have been left out of the learning system. This sound unfair to some but it only means that the poor students are allowed to pay slightly less. They government should also ensure that school systems are able to charge their fees in installments. This way the less privileged families are able to pay their fees in installments. Each month a parent can pay some portion. By the end of the semester, which is normally three months, the arrears are paid for without strain on the parents. A parent in this case bears the responsibility of educating his or her own children.

The government should not pay the fees of the students up to university level. Students are able to engage in part-time jobs by the time they reach university. This can be used to cater for some of their fees in the universities. This will take the burden from off the shoulders of the government. This also makes it easier for their parents. The government can also ensure the establishment that help in catering for the needs of students in higher education. This includes loan-lending organizations, where the students apply for financial help to finance their higher education.

When they finish schooling, they are, then, able to pay back at low interest rates, when they finally get jobs. This serves to lift the burden of the education of all citizens from the government. The students also take more responsibility, when they pay their own fees, as they know they will pay with their own money. The sense of responsibility allows students to put more effort in their education and remain more focused.

The opponents’ view is that the government should pay for all the fees as they claim this is the government’s responsibility (Tucker, 2007). They claim that the country’s government owes the responsibility of paying school fees for all citizens. This is impractical as explained above. This is because it makes parents irresponsible and it makes the parents forget their responsibilities. Some parents will have so much money at their disposure if they do not pay fees. They will engage in excessive drinking and other irresponsible behaviors because they have so many surpluses. This is especially with those parents who have not learnt the art of investing. As such, the government should ensure that parents pay for their responsibilities.

The argument that the government should not pay fees has its negative effects. These include the fact that some children will be locked out of school. They will miss education, which is crucial for their lives. However, as discussed above, the government owes a duty of care to the less privileged. They should ensure that these students are given bursaries and other financial aid. This will ensure that they benefit from the education system just like the other children.

The fact that the government should not pay for the education system means that everyone will act more responsibly. The parents will reproduce responsibly, and the government will be able to manage its budget without deficits. The university students will also be more responsible, especially when they contribute to their own education than when their education is financed by the government. This is the noblest course of action. The government should not pay for the education of students up to university. Parents should cater for the education needs of their children including higher education, and students should take on the responsibility and help their parents.