NationStates Jolt Archive

The United Nations:

REALIZING with regret that many poorer teenagers and adolescents cannot pay for higher education,

NOTICING that many rich nations fail to adequately fund higher education,

AWARE that many teenagers and adolescents want to attend higher education,

ALSO aware that:
- Students need to focus more on their study,
- Students, and in some cases parents, still pay a large part of the educational costs,
- Higher education can have a positive influence on the economy,
- Study-costs in poorer nations are lower than in richer nations.

POINTING OUT that students who achieve academic successes will attain a good job whereby they will contribute to the government by paying taxes. Thus there is little need to take into account the losses the government makes on the loans (rising inflation),

RECALLING UN resolution #28 where every person under the age of 18 receives a free education and

WANTING to go a step further than resolution #28

Calls for the implementation of the “Higher Education Act” whereby all UN nations are:

- Required to finance at least 25% (for poorer nations) to 35% (for richer nations) of all students costs.

- Defines higher education as al levels of education which students can follow once they are above the age of 18, in particular university education,

- Required to give students a loan when asked, whereby:
1. The maximum interest rate will be the inflation-percentage of the year the loan was granted,
2. Those students will have to come from families who have a modal income, or below a modal income for the nation in question,
3. The interest-payments will start after the study: the student does not have to pay interest during the study and does afterwards not have to pay for the “missed-interests,”
4. Student loans may not take-up more than 2,5% of the total government budget, unless the government decides otherwise. If this is the case: all student loans will be evenly spread-out between the students until the 2,5% mark is reached.

- REMINDS nations that this resolution DOES NOT apply to
1. students who spend their money in an inappropriate way
2. students who do not gain academic successes.
3. students whose parents earn more than double the minimum wage which applies for that country.

- ALLOWS students to:
1. Participate in student organizations without fear of penalty and
2. allows and encourages students to have a part-time job next to their study, so they can (partly) finance their educational- and living-costs.

- CALLS ON governments to always properly finance higher education.

- ALLOWS nations to, if they wish, go further then the above resolution.

One issue to begin with. Who determines what are inappropriate ways o spend money and what is failing to achieve academic success? One nation being incredibly stringent could lead to students leaving to study in a nation with laxer restrictions.

Greetings.

We express our disapproval at such a proposed resolution. We must accept that some in our fair land of Roathin are likely to be farmers all their lives (and good farmers too), whereas some might rise to the high calling of Master of the College of Shadows or the extremely demanding post which is that of Procurator of the Hidden Arrears Bureau of the Lady of Pain.

This being so, we have yet to determine if a particular youth is being appropriately educated or not given that we are quite certain that all education is inappropriate. Why so?

The logic is simple. Education is a process by which an existing state of mind is subverted and thus made different. It cannot be a process which maintains a state. That being so, the only good education is one which is inappropriate to the existing state. Hence all education is inappropriate and money spent on it must be inappropriately spent.

One might argue that the money is spent appropriately if an inappropriate end is sought. However, there are an infinity of inappropriate ends. Should the 'wrong' inappropriate end be attained, the money is still not spent appropriately. This makes the clause on appropriate expenditure a bad one.

The People's Dominion of Snoogit already pay for higher education up to and including graduate studies.

There would be no reason for us not to support this, and when it is proposed we will inform our delegate the need for this proposal to approach the UN floor

One issue to begin with. Who determines what are inappropriate ways o spend money and what is failing to achieve academic success? One nation being incredibly stringent could lead to students leaving to study in a nation with laxer restrictions.

Yes? What is the problem with that? Each nation can set their policy, and if they dislike students and are stringent, their students can leave. They'll still get their education.

Darkumbria wholheartedly disagrees with this, futile, attempt to create equality amongst the students of the unverse. Darkumbria, indeed, already pays for all of its students to recieve an education. At age 18, the students are tested to see where they fit in to society. If they qualify for higher education, through their test scores, their college is paid for, and a job is always available for them to make their mark in Darkumbrian society. Indeed, we need no laws enforcing this, as it is already done.

I see no issue with the spirit of this proposal. However, the enforcement of such a proposal would add to the already rising costs of education. I fear that, by passing thei proposal, the UN would usher in a dumbing down of students, through the additional of the necessary infrastructure that would be necessary to ensure that this is followed. Personally, I would rather spend my country's money on the students who show promise, and help those that do not find a role in which they can enrich their lives, and the lives of those around them.

Adding to the infrastructure of the educaitonal system does nothing for the students, it only adds to the infrastructure of the government, who already pay for education. There is no need to add to the cost of overseeing the educational systems of the universe.