Us Education System Gets Something Right

Many criticize US education system for right reasons, but US education system gets something right. It is a kind of education system that everyone has a chance to get education. Some might argue that the average college tuition is too high; others might argue that minority groups such as African Americans do not get equal opportunities in education. They are all correct, but it is very possible for everyone to get at least a Bachelor degree in US education system. This becomes very apparent when US education system is compared to education systems in other countries.

US education system does not really have a mandatory selection process applied to young students (e.g., students in 9th grade or 10th grade); many young students in US get K-12 education at private schools in order to enter top universities, but private school education is not required to get a Bachelor degree. They can even get degrees from top universities even if they do not go to private schools. This is because no university requires you to be younger than a certain age in order to apply or to select a subject to study. It is totally up to you to decide when you want to enter a university. It is also totally up to you to decide what subject to study. All choices are more or less up to individuals. This is not exactly the case in countries like India. Students take an exam in 10th grade; the result of the exam is a part of the mandatory selection process, and this more or less determines their future career. For example, if a student does well on the exam, he/she can study science and engineering. If he does modestly, then he can study practical subjects such as accounting and business. If he does not do well, he can only study one of remaining subjects such as History. There is nothing wrong with studying History, but the point is that there is a very rigid selection process, and students have to go through that process at a very young age. There are alternative paths, but the whole education system is definitely not as flexible as US education system.

Student loans are easily available in US. I do not encourage anyone to get any loan, but student loans are easily available. In other words, not having any money does not prevent anyone from getting education in US. Furthermore, number of scholarships are available; scholarships essentially give out free money. It takes a certain effort to get a scholarship, but every student has a fair chance to get a scholarship or two. There are ways to get around the problem of lack of finance to get education in US. This is not exactly the case in many countries. For example, in Japan, the word "scholarship" does not mean free money; it is simply another loan. More specifically, student loans are generally not available; one needs to get a scholarship in order to borrow money. There is a tremendous difference between (real) "scholarship" in US and "scholarship" in Japan.

Finally, there is virtually no discrimination in US education system. I am quite certain that many people in US disagree with the statement, but being compared to the education system in India, US education system has virtually no discrimination. For example, IIT, India Institution of Technology is the top university in India. It is a fine university, but it only accepts students from certain classes (castes). Is there anything like this in US? Not exactly. Anyone can get a degree from Cal Tech, MIT, Stanford or Princeton as long as he/she is talented enough and studies hard.

The current administration is not making a great effort to improve US education system, and I do not disagree with critics of the current administration in this regard. However, by comparison, few education systems in the world can match the flexibility of US education system. US education system gets something right.