Essay plan: discussion (discuss both views)

Whether governments should fund university studies for every citizen or leave the bill to students themselves remains a divisive question. While I accept that personal payment brings a sense of responsibility, I believe free higher education serves both individuals and society far better. Those who defend tuition fees argue that students who pay for their studies take them more seriously. A young person covering their own fees at a private university, for example, is less likely to skip lectures than one who risks nothing financially. Supporters also note that public money is limited, and that every naira or dollar spent on degrees is money not spent on hospitals or primary schools, which serve everyone rather than a fortunate minority. However, charging fees filters people by wealth rather than by talent. When a brilliant student from a low-income family abandons the dream of becoming an engineer because the fees equal several years of her parents' earnings, the whole country loses the bridges she would have built. Nations such as Germany, which abolished tuition fees, still produce disciplined graduates, which suggests that commitment comes from opportunity, not from invoices. Free education also pays for itself over time, since graduates earn more and return the investment through decades of higher taxes. In conclusion, although self-funded study may encourage some seriousness, I side firmly with free university education, because a system that develops its brightest minds regardless of family income enriches everyone in the end.