- Question
Who should bear the cost of public tertiary education?
The cost of tertiary education varies across the world. With many expenses to cover including room and board, basic utilities and salaries for professors, how should these operating costs be funded? This debate revolves around equity, socio-economic factors, and the role of tertiary education in society.
Tertiary education should be subsidized by the government
This position holds that government should subsidise tertiary education to make it affordable, but not free. It argues that sharing the cost between the state and students — through subsidised loans — keeps higher education sustainable while preserving the incentive that paying something provides.
Tertiary education should be funded wholly by the government
This position holds that government should fully fund tertiary education, making it tuition-free. It argues large institutional endowments plus public money could remove the need for fees, and that 'free' is uniquely equitable — the one cost that falls equally on rich and poor.