If everyone has the right to an education, why isn't post-secondary education paid for by the government?

Question

Only the people who can afford to go to post-secondary schools can go which contradicts "everyone has a right to an education".

Answer 1

hmmm very interesting i think maybe they feel it is extra learning thats not required and maybe because it will help u make more money so u should pay for it then i honestly never thought about it but u have a very good point there

Answer 2

While giving health care to everyone may be more expensive in the beginning, it is ultimately cheaper. People without health care wait until they're at death's door before the go to the ER, often times these problems could have been caught early and treated if the person had access to a physician. A doctors visit for a small infection & an antibiotic is much cheaper than a month in the hospital. That being said... I don't see this happening... Secondary education is already availible to most people. There are grants and assistance to help the poor, and the rich can finance their own education. It seems the middle class are the ones that need assistance. Some people have no interest in continuing, making it accessible will not make them decide to go. Everyone SHOULD have access to this.. but again, money is already spread too thin, and I don't think this issue is a priority in the eyes of our politicians.

Answer 3

The federal Constitution does not mention education, and the The U.S. Supreme Court has held conclusively there is no federal Constitutional right to an education. Public education has always been under the general control of the individual states.
Federal and State governments do have a certain amount of funds for students persuing higher education. These funds are called Grants, and Scholarships are also available.
Student Loans may be deferred for community service employment or teaching in low-income areas.
It seems much preference in selecting a school is given to privately-owned schools, over the funded ones. This is true in post-secondary as well as primary and day schools.

Answer 4

Anyone can go on to a post-secondary education. There are plenty of grants and loans that one can get. Still not able to afford it, do 4 years in the service and get the GI Bill.

As to why 'free' education ends at high school, it is because in the 1780s when the free education push started you only needed an eighth grade education to get by. High school was a way to get more out of life then farming. Today we need a college education but we don't have the desire to pay for everyone to go. Our economy is not as strong as it was during the late 18th and early 19th centuries when we actually had paid down our national debt and was making money hand over fist through land sales in the west.

Answer 5

The government does, in fact, pay for a tremendous amount of university & post-graduate education, in the form of low-interest, easy to qualify for loans. Our governments also spend a ton of money on State Universities and Colleges, like SUNY or the University of California systems.
But not everyone has a "right" to education. You need to have a high school diploma, high test scores, and decent grades to get into a decent college. If you have those, without question you can get financial aid, loans, etc. (The process could be better - most college's financial aid departments are poorly run - but by and large you can get enough loans, grants, scholarships, etc to go to whatever school you can get into.)

It would be nice if I could go to Harvard Business School,
Yale Medical, or the Juliard School of Music and say, "Let me in! I have the right to be here! (And here's my student loan money.)"
But I don't - and not everyone does. Education would be pretty meaningless if they let anyone and everyone in the door - just like pro football would be a little silly if, every Sunday, I had the right to start against the Bengals in the QB slot of whichever NFL team I chose.

Everyone has the right to a high school education, of some sort, paid for by local taxes & state & federal monies. Everyone has the opportunity to get high grades, apply for loans, and attend whichever post-secondary institution their grades, extracurriculars, sports, and test scores qualify them for, vis-avis other candidates. I think that's what's meant by the phrase ... "everyone has a right to..."

Answer 6

In this text it means only illegal aliens have the right to an education. A lot of schools now charge illegals, the lowest rate of tuition, while people who live just out of the school district must pay a higher rate for the same classes.

Answer 7

The government ensures that you recieve an education up until 12th grade, after that your on your own. However with community colleges, state colleges, student loans and grants, work study programs and scholarships, college is only closed off to those who just do not want to go.

Answer 8

Hmm.... I don't remember that right being referenced in the Constitution, or any literature at the time.

I would say that isn't a right, just like health care is not a right.

However society has deemed it appropriate that education be provided by the gov't up to high school.

Answer 9

Everyone has the right to own a home to.

But you think the government should pay for it ?

Everyone has the right to own a Porshe too, but I don't think you think the government should pay for it.

Actually, there is no federal right to education.

Thats a state right thats in most states constitutions.

And community college is cheap, with pell grants and the tax credits, anyone should be able to afford to go.

Answer 10

Anyone can afford to get an education. That is what they have grants and loans for. Poor people actually have an easier time getting loans/grants than middle class people do.