Motion 3 ; This House Believes
That University Education Should
Be Free
Thank you honourable chairman,
wise adjudicators, my worthy
opponents, my fellow comrades of
the affirmative and member of the
house, a very good morning I bid to
all of you.
We gathered here today, united with
one common motive and that is
debate todays motion, this house
believes that university education
should be free. I as the first speaker
of the government team stand firm
to this motion that it should pass.
Before I press on out teams first
argument, I am going to define
todays motion.
Three key phrase needs explaining.
The first phrase is university. Based
on Merriam Webster, university is an
institution of higher learning
providing facilities for teaching and
research and authorized to grant
academic degrees.
The second phrase is education.
Based on Cambridge Dictionaries,
education is defined as the act or
process of imparting or acquiring
general knowledge, developing the
powers of reasoning and judgement,
and generally of preparing oneself or
others intellectual for mature life.
The third phrase is free. Based on
Oxford Dictionary, the definition for
free is without cost or payment.
Specifically in our motion today, the
act or process of imparting or
acquiring general knowledge from an
institution of higher learning to grant
academic degrees should be done
without cost or payment.
Today as the first speaker, Ive laid
the foundation of our motion by
defining it. Now I will start to cement
it further with concrete points and
evidences.
Our government teams first point
will be
Our second speaker will be stating
points about
Our third speaker will rebut, rebut
and rebut further on towards the
negative team and crush any feeble
argument.
Now I will continue with our teams
first point which is education is the
basis for full economic and political
participation.
In 1877, Rutherford B. Hayes became
the first president to make a strong
case for universally available public
education. Universal suffrage should
rest upon universal education, he
said in his inaugural address, adding
that liberal and permanent provision
should be made for the support of
free schools. Hayes, a Republican,
didnt worry that some poor kid
might benefit from access to free
stuff, nor did he believe that the
children of wealthy elites should be
excluded from the universal nature of
the program. For him, education was
the basis for full economic and
political participation, and full
participation was the basis for all
prosperity. An education should be
available to all regardless of anyones
station.
In my view, education is essential for
personal and national well-being. We
live in a highly competitive, global
economy, and if our economy is to be
strong, we need the best-educated
workforce in the world. We wont
achieve that if, every year, hundreds
of thousands of bright young people
cannot afford to go to college while
millions more leave school deeply in
debt. We need to ensure that every
young person in this country who
wishes to go to college can get the
education that he or she desires,
without going into debt and
regardless of his or her familys
income.
As an example, in Finland, Denmark,
Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and
Mexico, public colleges and
universities remain tuition-free.
Theyre free throughout Germany,
too, and not just for Germans or
Europeans but for international
citizens as well. Thats why every
year, more than 4,600 students leave
the United States and enrol in
German universities. For a token fee
of about $200 per year, an American
can earn a degree in math or
engineering from one of the premier
universities in Europe. Governments
in these countries understand what
an important investment they are
making, not just in the individuals
who are able to acquire knowledge
and skills but for the societies these
students will serve as teachers,
architects, scientists, entrepreneurs
and more.
Therefore, it is time to build on the
progressive movement of the past
and make university education free
a development that will be the
driver of a new era of a better future.
We will have a stronger economy and
a stronger democracy when all young
people with the ambition and the
talent can reach their full potential,
regardless of their circumstances at
birth.
So ladies and gentleman, in
conclusion, I as the first speaker from
the government team, I strongly
support this motion today, which is
this house believes that university
education should be free.
Thank you.