>Isn't the real problem the economisation of education? The desire to express the value of education in monetary terms is really only useful for those running education businesses, like e.g. many of today's universities in the US ans UK.
The monetary value itself is useful to everybody who makes a decision. A student at least invests their own time into that education. Shouldn't they know how valuable that education is to decide if it's worth their time?
The problem is not the evaluation. Students seek graduation instead of education because they need access to that social network of alumni. A monetary value makes that demand visible.
> The monetary value itself is useful to everybody who makes a decision.
But I think the real value of education can't be expressed in monetary terms alone. Educated people tend to live longer and healthier. They tend to make more rational financial decisions and plan their lives with more foresight.
In a democracy it is essential that the voting population is educated and able of processing complex information, otherwise it stops functioning.
Of course you need educated people for a democracy. That's why the old generation dedicates enough funds to educate the next generation.
Regarding the value of education. If it has a value, why can't it have a monetary value? At one point in your life, you have shifted the majority of your time from learning to making money. You can only make that decision rationally if you have put a monetary value on your education.
Fair point. So what's your evaluation of the real value of education?
I don't see how I can answer your questions in a short comment because they depend very much on individual circumstances. E.g. nowadays you have to be able to read to make informed decisions. But with the rise of text to speech synthesis, and information available as videos and memes, there is no need to receive a formal education to be informed.
Then again, how valuable is analytical and critical thinking? That depends on the democracy. If people live in an established democracy with established institutions, they just have to choose the outcome, i.e. where the government is going to spend money. Then no further education is needed.
In general, the value of education follows supply and demand and depends on the environment. If you were the only educated person among cavemen, then your education is worth the world because you can make all the difference. On the other hand, if you are the proverbial philosophy major working at a fast food restaurant, what's the value of that education?
> Shouldn't they know how valuable that education is to decide if it's worth their time?
It would be nice if that was the case, but we don't expose the value to them. We expose a cost to them, with a profit margin included, completely detached from any value that might possibly accrue years down the line. And we expose it in the form of a never-ending debt. That is a specific choice that society has made, and not the only one available.
The monetary value itself is useful to everybody who makes a decision. A student at least invests their own time into that education. Shouldn't they know how valuable that education is to decide if it's worth their time?
The problem is not the evaluation. Students seek graduation instead of education because they need access to that social network of alumni. A monetary value makes that demand visible.