Today, there are some activists out there still fighting for free education to protest against the rising cost of education fees. This also occurred due to the belief that education is a public good and there should be zero privilege access to learning institution.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights legally declared in Article 26: everyone has the right to education, which at least it shall be free in the elementary and fundamental stages. Therefore, it is unfair for some people to be abandoned with education opportunity as it is part of our basic needs.

Moreover, the famous Nelson Mandela also claimed that “with education, it is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. Hence, this compels a strong force and advocacy for some campaigners and protestors on the ongoing support for free education in the world.

They believe that in order to get an education, it should not require a huge cost of money - but what makes education priceless is due to its power. Power that gives people the opportunity to create change, power that helps to transform human lives, as well as power that can benefit all level of global community.

Henceforth, when education is so powerful that most of its benefits are aimed for the betterment of mankind, why then should a price be set in order to obtain it?

It is undeniable to accept the idea that education may be life-changing and that holding a university degree is equivalent to obtaining a golden ticket to success. However, we need to bear in mind as well that we are living under the capitalist order; therefore, not everything in the world can be free of charge.

In fact, free education may not be useful if it were to be given in the tertiary level. Just take a look at this modern era of student loan debt. The National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) has said that it requires RM5 billion annually to continue its operations. Then between Jan 1 and April 30, PTPTN collected only RM630 million in repayment, which was 46.8 percent of the RM1.358 billion it was supposed to collect.

Even though I am not one of the loan-holders but for me, this data reflects that going to college these days is hardly possible if students are not getting in debt. Recently, we hear lots of news about the price of public goods and services starting to increase significantly in Malaysia.

Victims of a 'college bubble'

I can imagine that if education were to be free, we might be facing another bloating increase of tax prices in this nation. However, that is not the main issue that I want to pinpoint here.

What I found more problematic is that some people argue a university degree is worth less than what students are paying for them - along with the fact that tough job markets and demands from employers are also added to the pointless reward of earning a college degree.

As a result, Gen Ys - also known as the most educated generation - becomes the victim of a ‘college bubble’. What I can see, thousands of people can now enter a university and receive a certificate, but students do not realise that they are actually becoming consumers.

Consumers who need to explicitly consider the level of transparency in tuition pricing, concerning on what the university management provides for their degree programmes. And most importantly, how the expensive university degree is helping students in finding a job.

After all, by the time a graduate crosses the stage and receives a scroll from the chancellor, the student is entitled to - at the very least - around five digits of education debt!

Hence, do degrees (whether BA, Msc, MBA or PhD) really pay off? I am sure we can’t yet afford to say no, because job requirements often outline the need for a holder of a diploma, bachelor or any higher and tertiary qualification.

At the end of the day, people do continuously seek education in colleges and universities - regardless of how much it costs us to pay. If higher education is not just a public good, it is an individual good for those who pursue it.

But is it worth it to get a tertiary certificate when the statistics of employment are getting higher, while many still can’t find careers with competitive labour market conditions since the late 1990s?