Free education is a political term referring to education that is funded through taxation rather than tuition fees.
Although primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in many countries, in the Nordic countries
all education is mostly free (often not including books (from primary) and a number of administrative and sundry fees in
university), including post-graduate studies.[1] In Sweden and Finland, there is no fee for foreign students enrolling at a
university, although they may not be eligible for the monthly study allowance and loan most nationals are. Answers to some
of the frequently asked questions about studying in Sweden may be found online.[2][3]. Denmark also has universal free
education, and provides a monthly stipend, the "Statens Uddannelsesstøtte" or "SU", to students over 18 years of age.[4]
Several other European countries, such as England and Germany, have had a history of some form of free education, as has
Australia. In the 1970s the Australian Labor Party led by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam introduced reforms which ensured
free tertiary education. These reforms were removed later in the 1980s by the Bob Hawke Labor government. Students and
radicals opposed the introduction of tertiary fees in the 1980s, and played an important part in forcing the Whitlam
government to implement the free education system. Ireland and Argentina provide free education at all levels, including
college and university.
In Brazil, free education is offered through of the Ministry of Education of Brazil that offers scholarships for graduate
degrees, master's, doctoral and post-doctoral for the Brazilians and immigrants who have Brazilian citizenship. The best
universities and research centers are public institutions, either financed by the local state (state universities) or by
the federal government (federal universities). These public universities provide a great service to the country in
preparing professionals. Graduate students can get paid if they qualify for the incentive, but competition is extremely
fierce. There has been a proliferation in the last 10 years of private universities, which are interested in providing
professional training to their undergraduates. These private colleges are not interested in nurturing research centers,
since it is not part of their business model to get involved with research. Elsewhere, free education usually comes to
students in the form of scholarship and grants, if they cover all or most of students' expenses while at school. Providers
of grants and scholarships may be individuals, institutions (often the school itself), advocacy initiatives, etc. They may
have economic (e.g. tax-deductibility), humanitarian, charitable or religious motivations.
There are examples of steps towards free education being taken across the world primarily in those nations developing
rapidly, such as China.[5] In some developing countries like Sri Lanka education is free from the primary level up to the
tertiary level. The renowned centers of learning in Libya and Cuba may be attended free of charge.
Custom Search