As an influential policymaker, my efforts to reduce inequality would be implementing a free education policy at the primary, secondary, and higher levels. The implementation of this policy is an adherence to the human rights legislation that necessitates that primary education is obligatory and accessible. My policy further makes secondary and post-secondary education free. I consider that free education may contest the laws that maintain economic inequality in larger societies and provide young and educated people with the means to develop more balanced communities. Further, quality free education has a significant capacity to promote gender equality.
Free education is crucial since it ensures every individual receives some education at all stages. This policy indicates that every learner has an equivalent chance to attain this level of knowledge. Since secondary and post-secondary tuition costs are a huge concern for so many individuals, the power balance of education acquisition is not even. Many of the world’s best brains originate from low-income families, and this policy ensures they can finish their education (Rose et al. 128). Under this approach, every person has an equal opportunity to attend school, and free education is a significant tool for achieving egalitarianism.
The free education policy targets the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. At the primary level, free elementary education has helped some communities abandon practices detrimental to contemporary society, like teenage pregnancies, crime, and drug abuse. Free education is gender-equal in that it empowers girls and boys and encourages the acquisition of life skills such as self-management, language skills, conflict resolution, and critical reasoning skills that are essential for the success of children and youth. Free education at the secondary level is crucial because, after primary school, students have not acquired any survival skills and are at a delicate stage of engaging in illegal activities.
Females with secondary education are significantly less likely to get pregnant or use drugs than primary school dropouts. A free education policy in all cultures helps females be viewed as individuals capable of obtaining an education and making their own choices, as opposed to only potential wives and mothers (Rose et al. 141). Free secondary education also allows students to explore their sports strengths. At this level, most are absorbed by talent scouts or even getting enrolled in the military. The policy also provides free education to post-secondary education. Economies with higher rates of college and university graduates have better economic stability, lower rates of crime, and equal opportunities. Education gives everyone a feeling of power, the notion that they can alter their lives and select their chosen route. Educated women make better decisions and are more inclined to take responsibility for their livelihoods. A college degree is a requirement for an increasing number of occupations, which translates to better pay.
The policy of free education has a direct impact on reducing income and wealth inequality by enabling social mobility, allowing an originally uneducated person the chance to improve their social rank by earning more than their parents. Education facilitates the acquisition of new skills, increases work and personal productivity, and facilitates the transition to well-paying careers. Schools would be venues whereby children from wealthy and poor families interact and become peers, thereby breaking down barriers of inequalities.
The policy has various secondary impacts on free education at all levels. In order for the state to offer free education, all citizens must pay greater taxes. Individuals who do not take advantage of the policy will be required to pay for being overburdened with tax and for services they will not directly profit from. Additionally, under this policy, the possibility of inequity exists indirectly, and this is because many children come from diverse social and economic backgrounds. Even when schooling has been equalized, these children’s diverse family lives will still be evident. Except if the government is stringent, other students may experience demoralization or bullying based on their social rank and socioeconomic class. Finally, there is a possibility for unemployment under the implementation of this policy (Rose et al. 126). Although the policy’s intention is exemplary, this might ultimately result in many educated persons entering the labor market, leading to an immediate saturation that causes unemployment.
One of the approaches to assess the effectiveness of the policy is through data. An increase in the number of new students and ones who have resumed after dropping out of school because of financial restraints indicates a rise in equality. Some of the data to consider are new enrolments, rates of teenage pregnancies, juvenile crimes, and the need for extra teachers and educational resources (Rose et al. 134). The absence of classrooms, rising teacher work amongst secondary school instructors, scarcity of schools, and absence of teaching resources should be factors that measure the effectiveness of free education, and this policy should not lead to a decline in education quality.
Data on teacher productivity and motivation, a high teacher-student proportion, and inadequate instructional resources should be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the policy quality of education. Whenever some parents are compelled to transfer their children to private instructions, the policy has established equality (Rose et al. 140). Education policy is a powerful catalyst for change over the long term, and there ought to be evidence that it improves health and incomes, helps social stability, and supports long-term economic progress.
Work Cited
Rose, Pauline, et al. Reforming Education and Challenging Inequalities in Southern Contexts: Research and Policy in International Development. Routledge, 2022.