Higher education is regarded by most people as a gateway to better opportunities in life. One can hope for a better paying job and success in life if he completes college education. All students and parents consider college education important but they are also worried about the high cost of college education. It is not just tuition fees in colleges that have become prohibitive. The same is the case with books, food, supplies, and accommodation.

Students find it difficult to repay their loans

The high number of young adults carrying the burden of student loans on their heads clearly reflects the magnitude of the problem. College education has become so expensive that by the time a student passes out, he has a huge burden of debt on his head. Millions of students can’t even afford to enrol in a college. The result is that they lose out on the opportunities that are only available to college graduates.

There can be no two opinions about the fact that college education is too expensive today. It should not cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to get a degree from a college. In fact, the rate at which fees of colleges and universities is increasing these days, the time is not far away when higher education will become a prerogative of the wealthy class.

Government is spending money on non priority areas

The solution lies in making college education more affordable. No one wants college education to be free but questions are bound to be asked when the military budget of the country is more than $700 billion. On the other hand, the amount of outstanding student loan of nearly 44 million students stands at $1.2 trillion. Everyone knows that major part of this huge amount of military budget goes to corporations making bombs, jets, and bullets.

One way of making college education more affordable is to reduce tuition fees charged by colleges and universities. Of course, it can be tough for these institutions to manage their administration and salaries with reduced tuition fees. Government can increase its funding to public as well as private colleges to help them bear this burden.

Another way to make college education more affordable is to charge very low interest rates on education loans. It will be easier for students to repay them as their EMI’s will come down to very low levels.

It is clear that the burden of providing cheaper education in colleges will ultimately be passed on to the common tax payers by the government. But instead of passing the buck to solely taxpayers, government can cut down its spending on military, space, and other non productive issues. Public will not mind paying a little bit of tax to facilitate college education if it senses that the government is sincere in solving the problems of the students and parents.

Inexpensive college education will solve the problem of college drop outs and it will also make it possible for kids from poor families to receive higher education so as to make their future better.