Compulsory Education: Merits And Demerits

The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recognize the right to education as a basic human right. The concept of free and compulsory education first evolved from the multinational treaty between the United Nation General Assembly and various nations. But this concept is having certain pros and cons.

The pros of free and compulsory education are:

·REDUCES CHILD LABOUR: The schemes and laws regarding free and compulsory education may help in reducing the rate of child labour because compulsory education is only targeted upon small children. Now rather than working children would study.

·CAN REDUCE CRIME RATES: The basic education provision would effectively reduce the crime rates in society as a person attaining basic education would be able to understand what is good and what is bad.

·INCREASE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT LEVEL: The child who is provided with some basic education would be in a better position to have aims and pursue means to achieve those aims. Such difference among general public would promote human development.

·REDUCES ILLITERACY RATE: As many nations are backward on the ground that the literacy rate is very low. Such schemes would help people to be able to read, write and understand laws of the nation and reduces illiteracy rates.

There are also certain cons of free and compulsory education along with pros. Some of them are given briefly below as follows:

·OTHER EXPENSES: As free education only implies that the student may not take the burden of paying the school fees but such compulsion would lead to other consequences too. The education of a student not only means the burden of fees but also purchases of books, uniform and other equipment to that student. Such compulsion would indirectly lead to extra expenses.

·STATUS PROBLEMS: The scheme helps all the children like privileged and underprivileged too to have education free and compulsory. So, the school would have students of different economic status and then the higher status students would taunt the lower ones and mentally disturb them while attaining education. This may seem an avoidable problem but would lead to dangerous consequences if affected, because it deals with the the psychological aspect of the student.

·NO MEANS FOR HIGHER EDUCATION: All those who got basic level education would like to get a higher level of education too. But such dreams can never come true in case of an economically backward student. So, the government should also look after such problems.

·OTHER TALENTS WOULD BE SUPPRESSED: Not all students would like to be educated. Every person has different dreams to which education would not be the sole means. If a person who would like to be educated only till 5^th standard or till the age of 15-16 then the laws of their respective nations would not let them stop their education and would suppress them to do what they want to.