ইউনিভার্সিটির পড়াশোনা কি ফ্রি হওয়া উচিত?

Whether university should be free for everyone is a question many governments are debating as tuition costs rise. I largely agree that higher education should be free at the point of study, because it widens access to opportunity and benefits society as a whole, although I believe graduates who go on to earn high salaries could reasonably contribute later.

The strongest argument for free tuition is fairness. When students must pay high fees, talented young people from low-income families are often discouraged from applying, regardless of their ability. In Bangladesh, for example, public universities with low fees have long allowed students from rural villages to become doctors, engineers and civil servants, careers that would otherwise be out of reach. Removing financial barriers ensures that a place at university depends on merit rather than on a family's bank balance.

Free higher education also brings wider economic and social returns. A highly educated workforce attracts investment, drives innovation and pays more tax over a lifetime. Countries such as Germany, which offer tuition-free public universities, have built strong, high-skilled economies partly on this foundation. From this perspective, the cost of tuition is better seen as a national investment than as a personal expense.

That said, universities need adequate funding, and it would be unfair to ask taxpayers on modest incomes to cover the full cost for graduates who later earn far more than average. A sensible compromise is free study combined with a modest graduate tax, so that those who benefit most contribute once they can afford to.

In conclusion, I believe university education should be free for students when they study, as this promotes fairness and national prosperity. However, a small repayment system for high-earning graduates would help keep the system sustainable.