Dear Readers,

Please check out our new Opinion Poll on whether schools should be open all year round with multiple short breaks, and cast your vote by the end of August 2016. As you know …

your opinion counts

Our July 2016 poll was about whether university education should be free:

University education should be free because by facilitating higher education, governments invest in a highly educated and skilled workforce which will benefit a country’s economy.

• I agree. A country advances when its best and brightest are provided the opportunity to rise to the top. High fees will prevent talented individuals from gaining higher education and reaching their full potential. (83%, 33 Votes)

• I disagree. The cost of higher education to the state is too high to sustain free university education. The government should focus on funding essential services, and higher education is not such a service. (18%, 7 Votes)

The majority of respondents (83%) to the opinion poll believe that university education should be free. They believe that a country can only advance and prosper when its best talent is allowed to rise to the top unhindered by the burden of high fees for higher education. On the other hand, only 18% of the respondents believe that the government should not fund higher education, because this is not sustainable. These respondents believe that the government should focus on funding essential services instead.