The development of the society has resulted in the polemics about university education. One form of these polemics is that everyone should be required to undertake a university education. Many people views the university education as a guarantee for success. However, this essay will argue that not everyone should be required to undertake a university education because it is not all good for economic growth, the employment situation and the quality of education.

One of the main problems arising from everyone goes to the university is that higher education attainment cannot determine the economic growth. According to Rizzo (2009), some African countries did not get obvious economic growth while they got great success in their education development. By contrast, Hong Kong became one of the richest areas in the world without any massive investment in higher education. Thus, the level of higher education attainment is not the determinant factor of economic growth. Furthermore, everyone goes to the university is a great burden on one country’s economy. As Rizzo (2009) argues, ‘The US is already the world leader in its financial commitment to higher education - dedicating almost three percent of GDP to the sector.’ In addition, this percentage will increase over time. It can be enormously profitable if invest these money in other fields.

Next, there is the issue of unemployment rate. It is clear that a university degree cannot solve the problems in labor market. According to Rose (2012), some jobs in midlevel fields such as electricians, chefs and medical technicians, do not require people to have a university degree. Thus, there are a lot of good jobs available even if people just have a high school degree. In addition, university education can destroy people’s careers in some cases. For example, Breen (2011) argues that entertainers, athletes and ballet dancers should not go to university because they need experience and training rather than academic knowledge. What is more, more years of schooling can lead to higher unemployment rate. Potter (2006) cities an example from the OECD study. Canada has the highest unemployment rate among students than any other developed countries in spite of it has the highest level of post-secondary education in the world.

Finally, everyone undertakes a university education has some negative effects on higher education itself. According to Badke (2012), ‘University education should be reserved for the elite few intelligent enough to succeed at it.’ Not all student are suitable for higher education and they cannot get quality education what education aims at. In addition, the increase of university enrolments can result in the decrease of the students’ quality