[WalterBright]

> in direct opposition to current goal of producing labour units for corporate

I never understood this characterization. How do the schools implement a goal for producing labor units?

> education itself of course should be free

People don't value what they get for free. If you sign up for a course in welding, are you going to be more or less diligent in learning it if you have to pay the tuition?

[dbspin]

> People don't value what they get for free

No education is free, it's paid in time and effort. I value my degree because it was difficult, not because it had a cost attached. One that could be purchased without effort would have no value.

[WalterBright]

Paying tuition out of one's own pocket motivates one to learn the material.

[dbspin]

That's factually wrong - extrinsic demands decrease intrinsic motivation. There's a tonne of research on this. Similarly negative conditioning is less effective than positive.

[WalterBright]

> That's factually wrong

I don't buy that. Are you going to buy guitar lessons and then not show up?

Have you ever noticed how public school students trashed their textbooks that they were handed for free?

People don't value things they get for free. It's human nature.