Mariappan Jawaharlal, Contributor
Professor of Mechanical
Engineering
The story of education dates
to ancient civilization—but the story of modern public education begins in the
U.S. For over 100 years, the American university system has been the envy of
the world. Talented engineers, renowned scientists, and students from all over
the world come to the U.S. for higher education, especially in STEM education
fields, to get the best possible education so they can land great jobs and
support their families. In fact, international students often outnumber
Americans, now accounting for 70% of the graduate students in electrical engineering, 63%
in computer science, and 60% in industrial engineering.
International students are
doing the right thing. But it is so unfortunate that it is harder for American
citizens to go to American universities than it is for international
students—not because our students are not qualified, but because they don’t
even attempt to go to graduate school. American undergraduate students are not
on a level playing field with students from other countries, including
developing nations. It is heartbreaking to see our students becoming strangers
in their own country.
Young American graduates are
confused and in despair. I have worked with thousands of young men and women in
America, and I see highly talented students not planning to go to graduate
school because they are drowning in debt. After four years of undergraduate
education, our students are broke, in serious debt even before they get their
first job, and anxious to get a job so they can start paying back their loans.
The dirty truth is that they would be making loan payments well into their 40s
when they are raising a family, in addition to mortgage and car payments. Most
international students do not face this problem because education is either
free or affordable in their home countries.
Norway, Finland, Germany, and
Denmark offer free higher education for all. France charges tuition, but it is
almost free. The former Communist nations of Russia and the Czech Republic do
the same. Beyond Europe, developing nations such as Argentina and Brazil
provide free higher education. More than 300,000 Chinese students are attending university in
America, and 40% of them are pursuing graduate studies. In China, however, the
cost of college education is about $1,000 a year, which most families can
afford. More than 160,000 students from India are in the U.S., and about 85% of
them are pursuing either graduate studies or practical training. But in India,
tuition fees are affordable if a student is admitted to university through a
government selection process. If not, they pay higher tuition, but these fees
are still lower than ours and can be paid back faster when converted to
American dollars.
No one wants to be in debt.
When I was young, I used to think people got into debt due to unforeseen
situations such as job loss, disaster, and health issues. Little did I know
that college and university graduates starting their lives are in serious debt
in America. I sometimes hear the argument that a student won’t be a responsible
citizen if the education is free. This is a shallow argument. I have never
observed a single student from Germany, India or China to be irresponsible simply
because they got tuition-free education. Besides, we can implement a system in
which students can be held accountable for their education.
American students are becoming
second-class citizens in their own country by carrying a burden of debt before
starting their post-graduate lives. Being in debt affects them emotionally and
physically, and it limits their lifestyle choices and their ability to make
rational decisions. About 69% of students graduated from public universities in
the U.S. had a student loan debt of more than $30,000. Graduates of 2016 had
$37,172 in student-loan debt. A total of 44
million Americans are currently in debt due to student loans, and they owe
an astronomical $1.4 trillion. Consider this:
The total U.S. defense budget,
the largest in the world, is only $600 billion.
The total credit card debt of
all Americans together is $660 billion.
The student-loan debt in
America is higher than the GDP of Australia, the world’s 13th largest economy.
While our students don’t get a
break from their debts, bankers responsible for the financial crash of 2008
received over $700 billion in the bailout. On top of this, the government
has made a commitment for another $16 trillion. The cost of the Iraq war is estimated at $2.5 trillion as
of now and is forecast to be $6 trillion in a few decades, counting interest,
as we borrowed money for the war.
Our politicians have no
problem paying interest in trillions of dollars for a war of choice, but they
have no interest in investing in the future of our younger generation. Our
politicians are willing to lobby for big corporations and special interests but
are not interested in representing our students.
In the near future, a massive
number of students will likely default on their student loans, and a financial
crisis will erupt. Whether or not a bailout will occur, millions of lives will be
in financial and emotional disarray.
In 1862, the U.S. Congress
took an extraordinary step to create what is known as land-grant colleges,
which transformed America. The Morrill Act signed by Abraham Lincoln gave 30,000 acres
of public land to each representative and senator. No other nation took such
bold steps. We can still do it by making college education affordable and
providing debt relief to 44 million Americans. Otherwise, America’s decline in
education will seem unstoppable.
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