Free education sucks

I’ve never been a fan of Government sponsored education. Now, this is due to economic reasons, which are an influence of a fellow blogger. When I was small, this was a result of what I saw around me.

Both my parents were part of State funded scientific research organizations at some point. My father was attached to the Tea Research Institute, and later my mother was at the Coconut Research Institute. I saw researchers going for their Master’s Degrees and Ph.Ds, and fail to return. At the time, I didn’t know it was my tax Rupees at work, but then as time passed, I realized that it’s my money that they were wasting. And that there was nothing in it for me, as they didn’t come back.

I’m also critical of what I call the "unemployment cycle subjects". Stuff like Buddhist Civilization. Students in rural areas do these, and failing to get enough marks to enter Law Faculty or something employable, they enter University and study, wait for it, Buddhist Civilization. Upon completion of the degree, surprise surprise, they don’t have a job. The State then comes to the rescue with my hard earned tax Rupee, and bails them out by hiring then as either random "Promotion Officers" with an out-of-this-world job description, or worse, Buddhist Civilization teachers. When the latter happens, the cycle continues.

There is nothing called a free lunch, the same way there is nothing called a free fuck. Someone somewhere is paying for both. I’d rather have people not completing their secondary education and entering a trade, than a person completing an advanced degree in Pali. Whilst the former will, if successful, become an employer, the latter is bound to need my tax Rupees to bail him out.

Primary education is an absolute must. One should be able to read and understand, and to write, in order to make informed choices in exercising their franchise inter alia. But it should pretty much stop there.

For those who can’t afford higher education, several things can be done. Bonded scholarships and student loans can be means of State intervention, and the Non-state sector can contribute by means of either charitable foundations which provide free education, or rich people who want to fund the education of poor kids would do so.

The large population who can’t afford academic education should, and eventually will, move into other sectors. The labour force for blue collar work will rise, and it would be their responsibility to organize themselves and demand higher rates, and to develop a level of professionalism. People would be forced to do their own thing, and would eventually become enterpreneurs themselves, who would also create employment.

We suck when it comes to respecting blue collar work, because we think only those who finish a university education or those who work in air conditioned blue coloured offices are the posh ones. We fail to see that in an age where carpenters and plumbers are a dying breed, there is good money to be made. And at the end of the day, that money will be tranformed into a higher quality of life.

So it’s a simple choice for some. And I’m not being elitist, but realistic. Do your A/Ls in the Arts stream, go ahead and do that degree in Pali, and work in some crappy school somewhere creating more like you, or drop out after O/Ls, get some technical education and start making beds. At least after a while you’ll be able to earn some good money.

Whilst it’s a nice warm and fuzzy feeling to have those who study History, Language and Religion, they don’t contribute jack to the economy of the country at the end of the day. Save expect in a “Ganna Ape Dey!” scenario.

---

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• A Response to “Performance to What Degree?”
• Books and such