Tuition fees

Today I had lunch with another social work student, who is also doing a placement at Family Service Association of Toronto. She is conducting her internship with a different team, but we are located at the same office.

“So, you don’t have tuition fees in Sweden?” She is definitely not the first one to ask, and most people can hardly believe it when I say; “No, that’s right.” We talked about it, and more and more during my stay in Toronto I have come to realize just how fortunate I am. My choice of future profession was never depending on my or my parents’ income, and I strongly believe that University education would not have been my priority if I would have to pay for it. For one thing, my parents would have a hard time putting me and my three brothers through University. With a strong budget and years of saving up I might be able to afford it myself, but honestly I would probably not consider an education to be worth it. Now, after two and a half years of studies I can not imagine my life without the experience of academic education, but before I entered the University I did not appreciate it as much.

From a greater perspective I think it is beneficial for the whole society if education is accessible for everyone. If at least economy is not a barrier it creates a broader diversity among students and researchers in the Universities and knowledge is produced from varied points of views. It also contributes to equality in society, since knowledge is well connected with power and influence. Those things are difficult to measure with dollars and cents, so many people question if tax money are well invested when they pay for free Universities. I am, for one, convinced that the outcome is overall positive and invaluable, and other students (current and former) I spoke to in Toronto seem to share my thoughts.