Some people believe that education in all its stages should be free to everyone, while others think that university education should be paid for by the people who want it. Discuss both points of view and give your own opinion.

In today’s increasingly competitive world, it is essential that everyone has an equal opportunity to obtain an adequate

education

. If people are excluded from higher

education

because they cannot afford the

fees

, not only they and their families but

also

their society will be poorer

as a result

.

Therefore

, I believe that

education

should be free for those individuals who are unable to pay for reasons of poverty.

It is clear that

throughout the world increasing numbers of people are attending

university

, and that

this

has become a vital part of any individual's

education

. If people are deprived of a tertiary

education

for reasons of poverty,

this

will have a seriously detrimental impact on their future lives.

For example

, someone who does not attend

university

, because they cannot afford the

fees

, will be very unlikely to get a good job in future.

Consequently

, governments and organizations should offer scholarships to deserving

students

, in order to prevent the inability to pay from depriving them of higher

education

.

On the other hand

, the rapid

expansion

of

university

education

in many countries has been funded by the

fees

that

students

pay, at least in part. If governments had to find the extra money required to pay the

fees

of poorer citizens,

this

would slow down the process of

expansion

and deprive other

students

of places at

university

.

For example

, every time that the government had to divert funds from

university

expansion

to paying for current

students

,

this

would prevent another

university

place being offered

elsewhere

.

As a result

, funding for poorer individuals should not be allowed to prevent the nation as a whole from benefiting from increased numbers of

students

attending higher

education

. All countries around the world see it as their goal to offer the maximum number of individuals the opportunities to study at the highest possible level.

Although

funding poorer

students

might deprive the

education

system as a whole of funds for

expansion

, I believe that in any fair and civilized society, free

education

should be offered at all levels and that poverty should not be a bar to a

university

place.