Argumentative Essay sample on how free education leads to higher unemployment rate.

 

Argumentative Essay: Free Education is one of the factors responsible for the unemployment of youth today.

Modern Education was started in Bhutan in the 19^th century with visionary leaders visioning Bhutanese to become literate. Free education was made available to every citizen of the country with the establishment of schools and tertiary institutions across the country to educate all. However, free education without change in the system and surveillance has deterred the quality of education leading to a high unemployment rate in the country. According to World Bank, Bhutan’s Unemployment rate for 2021 was 4.33%, a 0.68% increase from 2020 which is an alarming rate.  Instances like doing away with the cut-off point for class x students have made students complacent, and free education have had become obsolete but also failed to inculcate innovations making graduates uninventive and irrelevant, lastly, the courses offered in the Royal University of Bhutan mismatches with the jobs in the market soaring the unemployment rate drastically.

 

The government did away with the cut-off point in 2019 to allow all Bhutanese students to complete their high school in Bhutan. The students securing 35 percent and above were promoted to class XI in public schools and on scholarship in private schools. The Political party chant “Tsagay Malang, Druk Nyamrup Tshopa Yoed”, was on the lips of every student instead of studying hard. Research on “Implications of Promoting Class X Student to Class XI without a Cut-off Point in Bhutanese Schools” conducted by Samtse College of Education showed that eliminating of cut-off point has caused students to become complacent in studies. Additionally, students shared in their research that they have lost interest in their school work which is evident in the 2020 class XII result where an overall pass percentage was 90.63, a decrease in overall pass percentage by 0.92 percent in comparison to 2019. On the other hand, researchers showed that the removal of the cut-off point has led to a decrease in school dropouts since the government provided financial support for the students to continue education. Additionally, the initiative helped in narrowing the gap between rich and poor since there was no disparity in providing scholarships. However, the charitable scholarship has left students disappointed after two years when they were neither absorbed in the Royal University of Bhutan nor absorbed in the job market leaving them in despair. Students complained that they were not able to get into college or jobs after scoring 70% on the BHSEC exam.

Free education has failed to inculcate innovations making graduates uninventive and irrelevant. With constant changes in the world without a pause, it requires the human race to keep up with the pace. Not just with modern technology but norms and daily activities. The education which could fetch a government regular jobs during the early 1990s and 2000s no longer is relevant to the changed system. The changed systems expect humans to be smart and innovative to survive however, the education system has failed to do so as many graduates opt to seat exams for civil service or stay idle at home to be called unemployed. Graduates are left awestruck and uninventive and irrelevant when they fail in civil service. However, on the other hand, some believe that students have become smarter to choose life for themselves, instigating them to opt for greener pastures in other countries like Australia and the Middle East. But, according to the Bhutanese (30 April 2022), 70 percent of people applying for studies in Australia are unemployed individuals and the number keeps on increasing.

The courses offered at the Royal University of Bhutan mismatches with the jobs in the market soaring the unemployment rate drastically. To reiterate, the changing world demands a change in jobs in the market and the courses offered by the educational institution in the country as it mismatches producing graduates that are irrelevant.  According to the Bhutanese, The Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) is currently revamping many courses, doing away with some, and getting in new courses in all 10 institutes under it and also the two private colleges affiliated with it. Additionally, the vice-chancellor of the Royal University of Bhutan said that the RUB courses are to train the students to be flexible and adaptable as the technology rapidly changes with machine learning, etc. on other hand, some say that the high unemployment rate is due to the attitude in the youth opting for high paying jobs or white collar jobs. But the ministry of labor asserted that graduates in Bhutan are challenged by the demands of the emerging job market and economic landscapes.

As we say, there are no so-called free lunches and everything has a hidden price, the free education that the Bhutanese students enjoyed despite scoring minimal marks has become obsolete. Students have opted to be complacent and dependent on a government scholarship. Then, free education has failed to inculcate innovations and adaptability traits making graduates irrelevant. Moreover, courses studied in colleges mismatches with the jobs in the market soaring the unemployment rate. Therefore, free education is one of the factors adding fuel to the soaring unemployment rate.

 

Thank you!