Value Of Higher Education

Introduction

Over the last 50 years, the higher education has changed significantly. The system became more diverse, with a lot of additional degrees and subjects. Next to this diversification it has grown massively over the years. Whereas only 6% of the population went on to higher education after high school 50 years ago, now this number lies around 45%! Due to the incredible increase in students, it is no longer sustainable for the government to pay for all of them. To keep it affordable private contributions to meet the costs of higher education have been established in a lot of developed countries.

In this essay I will try to give a view on changes in the higher education. Whether to let higher education be funded privately or publically.

First of all, it is well-known that universities are often the basis for new ideas, theories, innovations and development. They are suppliers of new knowledge.

Secondly, higher education helps in the industrialization of the economy. By providing workers with professional, technical and managerial skills. With the transition into knowledge economies high education provides not just educated workers, but workers who are essential for rapid growth of the knowledge economy. They generally are able to adapt to new situations faster, and have less difficulty keeping up with the latest inventions.

Thirdly, higher education helps the formation of a strong nation-state. Highly educated people tend to participate more actively in society. The citizens have a better understanding of how the society works. Higher education is very essential to produce social and political leaders with a good vision to govern the country in an appropriate

They have the ability to come up with new insights that will benefit society as a whole in the long run.

Probably the most important public interest in higher education is the ability to provide the society with the best political leaders, civil servants, doctors, teachers, lawyers engineers and business and civil leaders.

Social benefits of higher education

The social benefits of higher education are underestimated. A lot of experts agree that higher education comes with a lot of benefits on both individual level, as well as on the whole society. Adam Smith, a well known and respected economist, therefore pleads for public financing of higher education. The benefits are diverse, some are individual or private and many are public and social. Both individual and public benefits are economic, social, political, cultural and demographic in nature. The social benefits of higher education are in short IMMENSE!

In fact, many social benefits are public good themselves.

With the current situation of globalization the benefits even flow across borders, and therefore higher education is also considered an international public good.

We will have a look at the public benefits