Free education is funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights ensures the right to free education in primary education and progressive introduction of it in secondary and higher education as the right to education. The objective of free education is to guarantee equitable access to education. Everyone should be in reach of education. The economic or financial condition should not be a barrier to learning and adapting various skills.
Is free education really free? The simple answer is no. Why? That is because the resources needed to provide education are not free. Be it teachers, infrastructure, or coursework materials, the cost of acquiring these resources is not zero for teachers, infrastructure, or coursework materials. Teachers need to be paid a monthly salary. Investment is required for infrastructure to be constructed and maintained. Money needs to be spent on acquiring materials such as stationery, textbooks, seating arrangements, and other materials as a part of the courses offered. Who pays for all of this? Long story short, the government or sometimes, charitable organizations. And where does the government pay these expenses from? Taxes and external borrowings.
In the social sense, education is or at least should be a public good/service that is available to all. In the economic sense, education is rival and excludable. That means there is a competition to acquire an education; if one does not have the means to acquire it, they will be excluded. Countries that offer free education have made education a non-rival and a non-excludable service/good.
Nordic Countries offer free (or low-cost) education at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels for their citizens and international students. Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lebanon, Turkey, Sri Lanka, and Uruguay provide citizens free education at all levels, including college and university. In European Union countries such as France and Malta, tuition is usually free for European students, and in Germany, education is free for all European and international students.
In India, free education holds high importance. With poverty being a problem in the country, most BPL families do not have the means to send their children to school and prefer making them work for whatever income they can gather to sustain their lives. Free education will allow poorer sections of society to send their children to school without worrying about the financial implications of the same. The Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. Some states (like Punjab, Haryana, and Karnataka) are talking about providing free education up to the Ph.D. level for girls.
Free education creates human capital and is the easiest way to convert unskilled labour to skilled labour. It allows individuals to move up the value chain, that is, it allows them to move on from unskilled, manual labour, to skilled processes. Compulsory Primary Education simulates the want to continue further education. In economic terms, an educated or at least a literate society ensures increased productivity, increased income, and decreased unemployment. Individuals that are working and can support themselves and their families imply reduced dependence on public assistance programmes. Education by an extra year typically increases annual earnings by 10%, which is more than any other form of investment. Increased earnings by individuals implies increased tax revenues earned by the government. This increase in tax revenues contributes to increased social services and a healthier economy.
All in all, free education is sustainable for students in terms of the finances required and it is sustainable for the economy in terms of its long-term benefits. While it is difficult for countries like India to cater to their large and growing populations, free education initiatives will contribute effectively to tackling problems of human capital and poverty and it is essential for a developing, healthy economy.
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