OECD report on education
The UK has the third highest university tuition fees in the OECD.
The annual Education At A Glance study was conducted before fees almost treble next year to a maximum of £9,000 – shows the UK is the most expensive after the United States and Korea.
The analysis compared the 34 countries of the OECD, plus Brazil, the Russian Federation and Argentina, China, India, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
On average, students in the UK paid just under £3,158 a year in 2008. In countries including Austria, Belgium and France, teenagers paid less than half this amount. In Sweden, Denmark and Norway, tuition is free.
The analysis also shows Britain does worse at keeping young people in education than most other developed countries.
In the UK, 74% of 15- to 19-year-olds were in education in 2009, compared with an average of 82% across the 42 countries studied. Only Chile, Israel, Mexico and Turkey fared worse.
This is despite the UK’s spending on education rising at a faster rate than in many other countries. Between 2000 and 2008, funding for primary and secondary education increased by 56% in the UK – the eighth highest increase of 30 nations. Spending on higher education grew by 30%, the sixth highest increase.
Overall, spending on education in the UK was two percentage points below the OECD average of 5.9% of GDP.
However, expenditure has shifted from public to private sources.
The report found that adults in the UK with degrees have an above-average earnings premium. Having a degree in the UK gives the average male adult an estimated extra £132,000 over his lifetime.
Websites: OECD
Eyullahemaye Miller
Information
