English translation of an article by Prof. Dr. Mehmet Karaçuka, originally published in Seferihisar Yeni Haber on 25 October 2025 under the Turkish title “Yüksek Öğretim Ücretli Olmalı mı?.”
Countries around the world take different approaches to financing higher education through public resources. In continental Europe, universities are generally tuition-free, with a few exceptions such as the Netherlands. In countries following the Anglo-Saxon tradition, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, university education is more commonly subject to tuition fees. In Turkey, public universities also provide tuition-free education.
Perhaps the most important aspect of this debate is cost. Universities are fundamentally research and development institutions. They are expected to produce innovative technologies and projects that improve society’s capacity to organize and prosper. But such activities require substantial financing, which must be supplied either by the state or from universities’ own resources. Indeed, universities’ financial requirements are far greater than those of primary and secondary educational institutions.
Moreover, when higher education is free of charge, some inefficient universities and departments are nevertheless able to attract students. This should be considered one of the important explanations for the hundreds of thousands of unemployed graduates. The absence of a price for students allows certain institutions to operate almost like ‘zombie firms.’
The principle of the social state is, of course, indispensable. Yet a system in which the public sector supports those who lack financial means while families who can afford it contribute to university financing could be critical for funding scientific research.
If we do not want to fall behind in global competition in the digital information age, we must devote greater attention and resources to the universities’ essential role: innovation and technology-oriented research.
Original publication: Seferihisar Yeni Haber — Yüksek Öğretim Ücretli Olmalı mı? (25 October 2025).
