Government should offer college and university education free of charge for all students

Education has evolved into being a vital tool in the advancement of society – in science, technology, arts, and other disciplines. Hence, to achieve the needed development, the speaker suggests that education at the college and university level should be free for all. While I concede to the importance education accrues to any society, I strongly disagree with this recommendation.
Admittedly, the role of the government is to protect the rights of its citizens and in the best of its ability, help foster the development of the same which will eventually lead to a general advancement in society. It is often said that the wealth of a country is reflected in the wealth of her citizens. Hence, the government may consider rendering support to students to pursue their educational aspirations.
Another reason why the government may consider this claim may be the inability of some students to pursue their educational careers because of financial constraints. In vast majority of instances, students are trained by their parents or guardians. Hence, the ability of students to pay their fees depends upon the availability of funds by their parents. In a situation where the needed funding is not available, it is seen that the dreams of such students may be averted or crushed completely.
On a contrary view, before the government embarks on such a cause, the government must take into consideration the pros and cons of such actions, and in a case where the harms outweigh the benefits, it should rather not be pursued. Offering free education for all citizens may be problematic for a number of reasons. First, this would take away the responsibility of parents and guardians in taking care of their children. Presently, society is faced with the problem of population control. Hence, if one must bear children, the necessary consideration of provision for the child’s needs must be taken into account. To continuously leave parents aware of their responsibility, the government should not pursue this cause.
Secondly, students will eventually give less attention to their academic careers. Most students study not because they love to, but because they will eventually report their performance at the end of the session to their parents. In a society where education is free for all, students will barely study because they know that their parents have nothing to lose even when they perform poorly academically.
Another important reason why government should give this a second thought is that society has even more pressing issues at the moment. Is society complete without good health? People continue to die daily because of issues of hunger, lack of potable water, unhealthy living areas, and a host of other health-related concerns. It is only when a people are healthy that they are in the right state of mind to pursue other secondary endeavors like education.
In sum, the benefits of education to a society are irrefutable, and government may want to consider a free-for-all educational cause. But considering the end results which outweigh the benefits of this, government should place its attention and invest in other areas of the society in need of such funds.