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For the middle class, there seems to be no hope. We are stuck in terms of access to quality higher education. There are families with two or three children in college or in school all of them wanting to earn at least an undergraduate degree.

Our kids know exactly where they want to get in life and have set goals accordingly. They are willing to be responsible and work hard towards achieving what they want. Most of them also enjoy studying and love going to school or college, if they get the opportunity. If you look at higher education system in our country at large, you will find that as a part of the middle class, we are at the rock bottom.

Students who earn top grades and those who are from the lower income group have access to grants and scholarships. What about students who are average in their studies, who belong to the middle class and who cannot afford but deserve college education?

There is nothing wrong in helping students from both these groups but what about those thousands of students who fall in the middle? The aim seems to be to discourage us from pursuing higher education or spend a fortune on tuition and eventually fall in the poverty bracket and qualify for assistance.

Funding was reduced by our policymakers’ considerably and families faced a huge challenge in the form of tuition hikes. This is a trend that continues till today. Of course, those who are sitting way beyond us at the board of trustees cannot really see the predicament of us middle class citizens. They talk loftily about how our higher education is a great deal.

It is not that we have not been saving towards our children’s tuition fees. Where we continue to lose the battle is when our savings are greatly eclipsed by skyrocketing tuition. Sadly, we are earning enough not to qualify for the assistance and struggling yet to handle constantly rising tuition bills without breaking ourselves financially.

I think the need of the hour is to focus on getting the middle class into the fray. After all, we form a major slice of the population and we have a huge part to play in the collective future of our country.
I think every single student who deserves it should get access to higher education.

If a student is willing to work hard he or she must be given a shot irrespective of their financial status.  Realistically looking at the situation in the long run, our overall economic prosperity strongly depends on providing our students enhanced access to jobs. This is the only way all communities in our country can be benefited.

All demographics must contribute equally in providing education access to our students. The need of the hour is to find a common solution for the middle class in terms of providing them with enhanced access to education. After all, our country’s future depends on the way we educate our children.