AJ, regrading your last sentence, please read some recognised academic texts on development Economics.

The ROI to society for funding primary education is very high indeed. Slightly less so for high school education, but still positive.

When it comes to University level education, society does indeed get a positive ROI, but a much bigger proprtion of the gain goes to the individual.
As you know, there is a strong positive correlation between income level and education level, certainly in the private sector.

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