US Government Grants in Education

When referring to US Government grants in education, what is meant, are the grants awarded by the United States of America government to the Education Department. Today, the Department of Education is one of the most funded Departments in the United States. This is because of the increasing need for teachers in schools today. Many parents have suddenly realized the importance of education, and are, therefore, taking their children to school. The schools are, therefore, over crowded with students, but have very few teachers to match the student numbers. The government has, therefore, put pressure on the Department of Education to recruit more teachers.

This, however, has not proved to be easy, because of the high costs of education. Many students cannot afford to join the teaching profession, because of the high tuition fees and the many school requirements. To help out such students, the government through its Department of Education has started to award, college grants to education students. College grants are free aid, which is given to students who cannot afford to pay for their education. In addition, since the teaching profession requires students to have some level of academic excellence, grants are also awarded on merit.

In the teaching profession, students are often required to have an internship period, in which they go out into the field and practice the learnt teaching skills. Many students, however, cannot afford to travel to their allocated school locations. The government also awards grants to such students, and the grants cover all expenses involved. These expenses include transport, accommodation and feeding. It is, however, important to note that, grants which are awarded for school practice are only meant to cover school practice expenses. At the end of the day, therefore, the student will be expected to account for the grant money awarded to them.

Since the overall intention, of awarding US Government grants to education students, is to ensure that, more teachers get to graduate from colleges and universities; these students are expected to serve the government for some time after graduation. In other words, upon graduation, the recipients of education grants are expected to teach for a given period of time, in designated schools. Refusal to do so by the student will make the grant to become a loan. In other words, if the student does not fulfill this condition, he will be expected to refund the grant with the attached interest.

From the above, it is noted that, government grants to education students are to ensure that, the ratio of student to teacher attains some form of balance.