It's about time we took another look at free public tertiary education

THERE is something fundamentally wrong when taxpayers' monies are being used to finance the education of the children of the rich. This is not about free access to education. The only guarantee provided by the Constitution is free basic public education and not tertiary education.

Article XIV, Section 2(2) states that the State shall "Establish and maintain a system of free public education in the elementary and high school levels." While Section 1 of the same article states that, "The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all," this did not in any way mean that public tertiary education would be free even to those who can afford to pay. To have access does not necessarily mean that it is also for free.