University in Communist Poland

In the introduction of the chapter on University education in communist Poland, I was briefly led to believe that this university education, given free of charge, was a rare positive in Polish citizen life. However, the very fact that this education was free of charge was a misleading characteristic. Because that education was funded by the government, the government could control university life. University admission was decided by the prospective student’s parentage and not his/her individual ability. Priority was given to the children of workers.

In the present-day U.S., I do believe this type of prioritizing does exist, obviously not to the same extent. University admission is not primarily based on academic success. Applicants with family or social ties to a university may be given priority over applicants who do not have such ties. In discussion on a topic very similar to this, a friend of mine had said “It’s all about who you know these days”. However, not every applicant can have such ties, and so previous academic success does come into play, ignoring other factors such as athlete priority, etc.
In communist Poland, the courses which would be taught at these government-run universities were chosen. Any courses which could potentially teach citizens of other governments and lifestyles were not allowed. Topics were limited and based upon the present needs of the country. At U.S. universities, there is a large variety of available courses. Students can choose their major of study, and choose (out of set choices) which courses to take to fulfill their requirements. To some extent, there are censored subjects. For example, the university approves of what history books can be used to supplement a history course. Many of these textbooks give only certain pieces of information, perhaps to keep the U.S. in a good light. Also, there are courses in which the student has to take, such as core curriculum, with the purpose of furthering basic student knowledge. In my opinion, this is what high school is for, and because high schools are deficient in completing this task, university students must spend more time doing core curriculum and less time specializing.

Overall, U.S. students invest their money into a university and in return, get a degree which allows for more access to profession. We have many choices, as in a university, major, etc. The abundance of universities allows for more access to education, even though the application process may be a little unfair.