Free Education for Everyone
Free Education for Everyone was an Irish student campaign group which was set up in September 2008 in University College Dublin to fight the proposed re-introduction of university fees. FEE was active in Ireland's main universities, including University of Limerick, University College Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, NUI Maynooth, University College Cork and NUI Galway, and Queen's University Belfast.
Activists organised mass protests. It was mainly known for its occupations of government constituency offices and blockades against government ministers and of government buildings. Politicians such as the former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, and Ministers Batt O'Keeffe, Éamon Ó Cuív, Brian Lenihan and his brother Conor Lenihan were targeted.
Background
On 11 August 2008, Ireland's Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe indicated that fees for university students were back on the agenda in a move which contravened prior government policy. With university presidents putting pressure on the government to approve this proposal, the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan announced an increase in the annual college registration fee by €600 on budget day, 14 October 2008. The Union of Students in Ireland, in co-ordination with the fledgling FEE, arranged a mass protest in response to claims that any increase in tuition fees would prevent many from attending college.University blockades
A number of government ministers encountered hostility from students whilst visiting campuses at UCD and NUIG. Three members of FEE, including the Chair of Sinn Féin's UCD branch were arrested for breaches of the peace following two minor scuffles as 100 students took part in a banner-bearing protest at the Clinton Auditorium on the Belfield campus of UCD on 20 October 2008. The three were later released without charge. Brian Lenihan was to chair a function at the Institute but met with a blockade as students responded to the proposed barrier to their education by creating a physical barrier of their own against the Minister. On the evening of 12 November 2008, FEE activists attempted to blockade Minister of State, Conor Lenihan from his visit to University College Dublin, in protest at the proposed re-introduction of university fees.On 9 December 2008, Eamon O'Cuiv was accused of "manhandling" a student activist at NUI Galway after claiming that his secretary was being "squashed up against the wall with students kicking her and one of them waving a big stick at her". The student has said he was on the opposing side of a railing and photographic evidence has proven this to be the case, with one photo clearly showing the Minister grappling the student.
A visit by Bertie Ahern to NUI Galway on 2 February 2009 was disrupted by FEE activists, forcing the former Taoiseach to cancel a scheduled lecture on the campus. There were scuffles with gardaí as Ahern was blocked from entering the college grounds and booed by a group of FEE activists and other NUIG students. One man was arrested but later released.
February 2009 protest
FEE and the USI planned a further major demonstration in Dublin for 4 February 2009 to protest against the proposed move to reintroduce third-level fees, following comments from Batt O'Keeffe which suggested he would like to do so. FEE produced 20,000 leaflets to promote this protest which their activists distributed across the country. The USI argued that if it were to happen then poorer people would be prevented from attending college and that in turn would damage Ireland's knowledge-based economy. The protest gathered at Parnell Square at 13:30 before marching to Leinster House on Kildare Street. Despite extreme weather conditions which caused widespread traffic disruption across Ireland that week, 15,000 students were involved.Blockade at Paul Gogarty's Office
On 4 December 2008, eleven FEE Activists from UCD occupied the office of the Green Party Spokesperson on Education Paul Gogarty in Lucan, as part of a national day of protest across the country. The occupation lasted for about four hours, and the activists were removed when the Gardaí removed the barricaded door. The "Lucan 11" were arrested but not charged for the incident. On the same day, over 20 FEE activists in Cork occupied a room in the President of UCC's office for over an hour before being removed by the Gardaí, and almost 20 students staged an in-house protest at the constituency office of Éamon Ó Cuív in Galway for over an hour and a half.Referenda
In March 2009 the campaign's focus switched towards organising a national one day shutdown of third level education. In UCD a referendum was organised by F.E.E calling on the Students Union to organised a one-day shutdown of the college and campaign for a national shutdown which was passed by 83% of the vote. Similar referendums were organised around the country.Blockade at the Department of Finance
On 16 April, students from both the National University of Ireland Maynooth and University College Dublin branches of FEE staged a direct action protest at the Department of Finance. While over 25 students held a demonstration outside the Department, another 15 were inside the Department. This achieved mass-media coverage on radio at the time, being picked up by Newstalk, Q102, Phantom FM and FM104, while also making it online and into the next days editions of many papers including the Irish Independent.The students stayed inside the Department building for over 2 and a half hours. No arrests were made in the end and the group left of their own free will, after handing in a letter to the Department. A banner proclaiming 'UCD AGAINST FEES!' was hung over the stairs inside the building, while outside the NUIM banner read 'EDUCATION NOT EMIGRATION'.
Occupation of Brian Walsh's constituency office
Nine FEE students, participated in a peaceful sit-down protest by occupying the constituency office of Fine Gael TD and former mayor Brian Walsh in Bohermore, Galway, around midday on 30 November 2011. They unfurled a banner on the roof with the message, "FREE EDUCATION NOTHING LESS". They were imprisoned by the police and released a short time later.Enda Kenny "Egging" in UCD
On Thursday 29 November 2012, members of FEE UCD disrupted the opening of the UCD Student Centre and Sports Complex by Enda Kenny in protest against education cuts. Two eggs were thrown at Kenny before four students were forcibly removed from the centre by Gardaí. Although Kenny was not hit, UCD's vice-president for students was hit by accident.Additional information
There have been many contradictions from different scholars on whether education should be free or not. Some have suggested that it should be open for the poor but not the rich. Looking at it from an ethical perspective, it is unfair that less unfortunate people will miss opportunities. Ethically, everybody should get a chance to acquire an education. As Maria Castle puts it, everyone should be allowed to qualify. For instance, all persons should be able to be qualified to work as a police officer, even though blind or deaf people are not promised such an opportunity. Free education, especially the higher leaning level, should be free for everyone so that they are open up for opportunities, although the opportunities are not assured.
Everyone needs education. Since education is vital for the well being and survival in almost every field like academics, social, and even politics, everyone needs to acquire it. To solve the current world problems like poverty, anger, and malnutrition, everyone has to receive education, and there is a need for making education free and accessible to everyone. It is, therefore, vital to make it free for everyone so that we move forward towards one direction as a nation. In the following paragraphs, we are going to have a look at the importance of education in various fields and why it should be free for everyone.
Just like any other topic with cons and pros, providing free education for all also has its drawbacks. With the provision of free education for all, the financials used will have to come from somewhere. And the most likely place is from taxes, this will lead to an increase in taxes for everyone, which may become a burden also. As Anderson puts it, providing free education for all will not allow the younger generation to know how to manage their finances. Of all the experiences that students learn in college, budgeting for their funds is one of them. With the loans that students get in college, they will be able to learn how to save so that they can pay off the loans in time. This experience will not be existing if education was free.
Most students work hard in college since they want to spend every coin that their parents have paid. This makes college valuable. Making education free will devalue the degree acquired in college, for students will not see the importance of working hard since they are not paying anything. With free education, people try to finish college to avoid more depts. With more people being enrolled in schools, more finances will have to be allocated to schools. This will increase the taxes that will cater for education-related purposes. The cons of free education for all do not seem to hold a lot of weight as the pros seem to solve a large number of issues.
Education plays a crucial role in the elimination of poverty. From recent estimates, 10 percent of the world's population survived on less than 1.9 dollars a day. This was a significant improvement from the 1990 estimates, where 36 percent of the people lived in extreme poverty. This exceptional contribution is as a result of making education available for everyone. With the provision of free education to everyone, a total of 171 million people could be saved from extreme poverty. This is equal to a 12 percent decrease in the world total. Targeting the poor and the marginalized to educate them can be a solution to development among the communities. With education, there will be no transmission of poverty from one generation to another. In a speech by Vila Kulild, he states how the provision of education to marginalized communities can solve the poverty problems. He says that parents in the marginalized communities invest all their income in educating their kids since they believe that education is the key to opportunities.
Education is responsible for breaking the circle of poverty. It has several impacts on the society that seem unrelated, and such effects are the girl's education, this has helped to lower the number of prenatal deaths. With education, people will be able to make better choices and decisions that will help their families and community at large. In India, for instance, a lack of individuals to take part in educational activities carried out by the government contributes to their extreme poverty. Some who have recognized the importance of these programs have taken part in the participation. Thus, they have acquired an education that has enabled them to get employment, therefore, alleviating their poverty status. It is essential to learn necessary literacy skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic since they would help them carry out their jobs with satisfaction. All this will happen if education was made free for them.
According to a study, Americans with more education have a longer lifespan and live a healthier life than those who have spent a few years in school. The links between health and education are not only sophisticated but also related to the skills and opportunities that the individual has had. Education has a direct and indirect impact on health. For instance, with better education, an individual is likely to get a job that provides health benefits such as health insurance policy and paid retirement. Individuals with less knowledge are more likely to get a job with fewer benefits. People who are educated tend to earn more than the uneducated. Thus, they lead a healthier life.
We can, therefore, conclude that families with education, take healthy foods, have time to do exercise, and can pay for health services. On the contrary, individuals with no education are prone to getting illnesses in hard times. With lower education comes low income, individuals who did not have the opportunity to get an education are likely to lack an insurance cover and have a lower salary. A research carried out in 2010, more than 27% of adults who did not get high school education reported having been unable to see a clinician due to the cost that came with it. The ability to access healthcare services determine how one can manage chronic illnesses such as diabetes. From CDC reports, adults who completed high school education were updated about cancer screening as compared to their counterparts.
Education also plays a key role in the economic development of a nation. As there is no country that can achieve its economic success without educating its people. Education opens the people's understanding of themselves and the world at large. With education for all people are able to be creative and come up with ideas that will propel the nation forward. Education determines the standards of living of a nation, and also its productivity. It ensures that the country is at par with other countries in the world market. Therefore, by ensuring that education is free for all, will not only benefit the citizens but also the nation involved.
Education should be free for everybody since it has social and phycological benefits. People who have better education are spared of the social and economic hardships. Those who did not get the chance to acquire education have less social support, lack a sense of control over their lives, and often have low self-esteem. Individuals with less knowledge are prone to what studies have called "allosteric load." This means the results that come when an individual has been continuously exposed to phycological stress. People with no education or less education are more likely to be exposed to higher allosteric load, which may rule them to acquire diseases such as cardiovascular disease and infections. Thus, they are associated with a higher death rate. With education, one gets to learn skills that are not thought in classrooms, such as flexibility, creating relationships, and the ability to negotiate. With the large social networks formed in school, they are able to create connections that may benefit them financially, economically, or emotionally.
According to Albert, a health expert, poor neighborhoods are most likely to lead to poor schools, which will lead to poor education, poor education will lead to the weak workforce, with poor work will lead back to the start, which is poor neighborhoods. With less knowledge, people are likely to live in a poor community that lacks or has limited resources. In the United States, stores with healthy foods are less likely to be found in fewer college-educated individuals than in tracts with college-educated persons. With education, people tend to live in neighborhoods that are friendly, that have sidewalks and parks to encourage physical activities such as cycling. With lower crime rates in the educated neighborhood, residents are at a lower risk of death threats from violence and the stress of living in an unsafe place. With lower education, people tend to pollute the environment as less political influence is often targeted in the areas.
In countries such as the United States, education for every kid is a right that one should not be denied. While in other parts of the world, kids cannot go to school due to factors such as conflict, disaster, and poor living conditions. Despite the excellent conditions provided by the US government, approximately 6.2 million students dropped out of school who were aged between 16 to 24 years in 2007. Most of these students would have ended in jobs such as nursing or teachers they end up in being drug dealers or working in very low paying jobs. Conflicts happen everywhere. It is through education that individuals escape their homes where there is conflict. As Dr Edwin puts it, knowledge does not only save a life but also sustains it.
Some argue that education will be meaningless if it was free. They suggest that people can use education as a way of getting out of work and doing nothing. High school students cannot get jobs; thus, their education should be free. However, when an individual can acquire employment and can live their lives, there is no need to educate them as they will not get the chance to feel the agony of paying thousands of fees. By allowing them to pay their fees, they are able to learn better decision making and thinking skills. If all education is free, then less thought will be required, and students may use taxpayers' money to pursue courses that do not suit them. With this argument, the individuals who are genuinely financially disadvantaged may tend to be left out. The government should support many scholarship programs for the less privileged students to make sure that they get educated. Also, these programs can cater for the older people who never got a chance to go to school so that they get equipped with essential skills that will see them through to another day.
Education should be made free for all but on conditions that will maintain its quality. Governments and bodies should create policies that will monitor every individual to make sure that they get access to education and complete their education. Providing education for everyone will not only ensure an excellent lifestyle for individuals but also a longer lifespan. Mothers with good education tend to have few children and are often married later in their lives. Educated people tend to make better health choices. According to a study, educated individuals have shown great success in carrying out self-care services in managing their chronic illnesses. Thus, ensuring that education is free and accessible for all is vital for the well-being of any nation.