Giải đề: Should the government pay for college fees

In some countries, students pay their college or university fees, while in some others, the government pays for them. Do you think the advantages that the government pays the money outweigh the disadvantages?

Should the government pay for college fees: Advantages vs. Disadvantages?

Bài mẫu

It is no doubt that education has positive benefits for the society; therefore, some governments subsidize college tuitions. In my opinion, free university education brings both advantages and disadvantages, and the decision of whether tertiary education should be free should be based on the country’s resources.

On the one hand, college education subsidies promote equality of opportunity, which means less privileged young citizens would have the same access to higher education as ones from better-endowed families. This would lead to a more educated and productive workforce since countries with high rates of education generally have higher levels of innovation and productivity growth. This would also provide more skilled graduates for the current increasingly high-tech industries whose positions require employees of specialized knowledge and skill sets. Besides, graduates can also gain skills and awareness of civic institutions which offer intangible benefits to society.

On the other hand, there has been a rapid rise in the number of graduates, and many of those take jobs that do not require a degree; therefore, it would be a waste to continue to fund public university education when there are shortages in resources for core generic skills training, such as literacy and numeracy, and more basic vocational training so people could become social care givers, builders or electricians. Moreover, when people have to pay to go to university, they tend to value their education more and take their studying more serious, and schools should have more resources to maintain standards and quality of teaching and researching.

In conclusion, both charging and subsidizing college tuitions bring benefits, and governments should consider their resources and labor demands when making decisions of such matter.

(276 words, written by Mr. Thanh Tung – 8.0 IELTS)

Từ vựng và các cách diễn đạt trong chủ đề Government & Education

tertiary education (n) giáo dục sau khi tốt nghiệp cấp Ba
to promote equality of opportunity: khuyến khích những cơ hội bình đẳng
privileged (adj) sự ưu tiên, có đặc quyền, đặc ân
access to smth (n) sự tiếp cận đến
well-endowed (adj) được hỗ trợ tài chính ổn định
levels of innovation and productivity growth: trình độ phát triển đổi mới sáng tạo và năng suất
high-tech industry: ngành công nghiệp công nghệ cao
specialized knowledge and skill sets: kiến thức và hệ kỹ năng chuyên môn
civic institutions (n) các công trình cộng đồng, mở ra cho công dân
intangible benefit (n) lợi ích vô hình
to fund public university education: đầu tư, thành lập quỹ cho đại học công lập
shortages in resources (n) sự thiếu hụt về tài nguyên
core generic skills training (n) sự đào tạo các kỹ năng cốt lõi
basic vocational training (n) sự đào tạo nghề cơ bản
maintain standards and quality: duy trì các quy chuẩn và chất lượng
college tuitions (n) học phí đại học
labor demand (n) cầu lao động