Episode 3: Education is Not a Privilege

“Education is not a privilege!”

That’s the sound of South African students protesting for fair education.

"No al exilio educacional chileno!!"

         Now, this is the sound of Chilean students protesting for fair education during the 2011-2013 Chilean Protest.

         Though I brought up only two examples, this is just a portion of the harsh reality when it comes to education fees all around the world. Now at this point, let me make a clarification. By ‘all around the world’, I literally mean from the entire globe; whether rich or poor, almost every nation is suffering due to educational issues.

“F**k fees"

         This is the shout from college students from the United Kingdom, during the 2010 United Kingdom Student Protest. United Kingdom, a country that we call as one of the “rich” countries, is also suffering from the government incapability of ensuring equal opportunities to students who wish to be educated. You must remember. United Kingdom is one of the TOP 10 countries to invest the biggest money to their students. 

           Ranked 4^th in the globe for investigating money for education. Total of approximately $11,825 per student. Spends 5.4% of their whole GDP on education. The absolute number one in all terms within the globe. But yet, still incapable of paying for young students with the potential and ability but without the money. This is the reality of Carlos’s homeland, America.

          

           In the podcast, Malcom Gladwell introduces Carlos, an outstanding student in all of his academics, but yet greatly suffering from poverty. Carlos has a very common, or more like a cliché story. He is smart, young, and passionate, but yet poor. His financial inabilities were his greatest obstacles during his school years. He had the capability to do well in many top ranking universities, but he didn’t have the capability to afford it. This type of story, as people who haven’t been to such dramatic situations, just sounds like another story of a poor student giving up their dreams to earn money.

           But one thing to remember is that the biggest problem of this story is not Carlos’s tragic situation itself, but the fact that this type of story if referred as ‘cliché’. We face such stories in all different parts of the nation, or from the world, but yet there is not a single story that alarms us with some news that such cliché is now coming to an end; or at least, they are making some progress.

More than ten thousand dollars per student. Ten thousand. Where did it all go? Because obviously, thousands of Carlos’s all over the nation didn’t get that. Saying the US government simply doesn’t have enough to investigate more on K-12 students is not an acceptable excuse; neglecting those young students situated in great jeopardy requires a better explanation.

Trump has recently presented his new plan for his following presidency which included a 10% decrease in money investigation in the education field. Simple nonsense. This will knock off all the Carlos’s in the nation: just another extension in torture for students longing for ‘good’ education.

“Education costs money, but so does ignorance” This is a quote from Claus Moser, a former government statistician. Children represent the nation. They will lead the next generation. As descendants that will take the burden of managing the country within thirty years or so, better treatment, not ignorance, is needed. They are not people to be underestimated and treated in such a shabby way. If they, the government, can’t ‘afford’ to help the unprivileged students, at least give them a mean to find their way out of hell. We all can help, and the big fat government can surely, too.