The rising cost of tertiary education in your country has become a serious problem. Write an article for publication in a national newspaper discussing this...

The Rising Cost of Tertiary Education: A Growing Burden

By Halima Sani

Higher education was once regarded as the surest ladder out of poverty. Today, however, the soaring cost of tertiary education is turning that ladder into a wall that shuts many bright young people out. This article looks at the problem and suggests measures to bring it under control.

The cost of a university or polytechnic education has climbed steeply in recent years. Tuition and acceptance fees, accommodation, textbooks, feeding and transport now run into sums far beyond the reach of the average family. The result is painful: brilliant candidates abandon their admissions, some students drop out midway, and others turn to dangerous means of raising money. In this way the nation loses the talent it most needs.

Several factors drive up these costs. Government funding of public institutions has failed to keep pace with rising enrolment, forcing schools to shift the burden onto students through higher charges. Inflation has pushed up the price of books, food and hostel rents. The scarcity of places also plays a part, for many candidates are pushed into expensive private universities as the only alternative.

The problem is serious, but it is not beyond solution. First, government should increase its funding of tertiary institutions and channel more resources into education, so that fees can be kept within reach. Secondly, a wide scheme of scholarships, bursaries and student loans should be established to support the needy and gifted, with the loans repayable only after graduation and employment.

Thirdly, institutions should expand distance-learning and part-time programmes, which cost far less than full residence and allow students to earn while they learn. Fourthly, corporate bodies and wealthy individuals should be encouraged, through tax incentives, to endow scholarships and equip campuses. Finally, more tertiary institutions should be built to reduce the desperate competition that drives students into costly options.

Education is too precious an investment to be reserved for the rich alone. With deliberate funding, generous scholarships and cheaper modes of study, we can keep the doors of higher learning open to every deserving child.