In past 7-years graduation rates have stalled at 39% in UK
The UK is crumbling international classification of graduation rates and now sends a smaller proportion of young people leaving school at the University of the Slovak Republic, Ireland and Portugal, according to a major study of global education.
In the last seven years graduation rates have stagnated at 39% and has leap-frogged the other 11 countries, the OECD study comparing the educational systems of developed countries found.
The UK has a higher rate of young people leaving education, employment or training of most OECD countries, except Italy, Mexico and Turkey. This leaves young people in Britain more vulnerable to the effects of the recession.
A ten-year increase spending on schools in the United Kingdom, the growing number of graduates and improvements in pre-school teacher available now in danger of being eclipsed by other countries that have copied the educational policies of the United Kingdom . If the investment is reduced by the contraction of public spending in the UK will lose its historic leadership position in the world, the report warns.
Andreas Schleicher, author of the annual education report from the OECD, said that in 2000 the UK has one of the most dynamic education systems, but now risks being left behind. “Now there are many countries that have accelerated more and are going through the UK,” he said.
The report compares OECD countries – including the UK, USA, France, Japan, Germany and Turkey – according to its investment in education and reap rewards for people to stay in school and study more beyond the age of 18.
It also concluded that that:
• Class sizes in the state funded primary in the United Kingdom are higher than all other OECD countries plus Turkey and Japan, with about 26 children per class on average,
• Class sizes in private schools in the UK are half the size of those in the state sector
• Teachers’ starting salaries in England are above average in primary schools, but below average in secondary
• The UK spends 5.5% of GDP on education – above average for schools, but below the average for universities
• 30% of people who begin in higher education fail to complete their course – something the authors blame low completion rates in vocational courses rather than traditional titles
• On average in OECD men with degrees can expect to earn a lifetime award from $ 186,000 (£ 112,914) compared to $ 134,000 (£ 81,346) for women
People who have a degree are more likely to have a job, earn more and enjoy better health, the agency said. Schleicher said the report was a warning to governments and youth in the recession that the price of not getting a good grade on the rise. The report is based on data from 2007, before the global economic slowdown began.
“People who are left out will pay higher prices than in the past. The competition for jobs is increasing and this is a warning that this could worsen. The penalty for leaving is bound to rise further ‘ he said. He added that “makes sense” to expand the universities during a downturn in students taking more and empower people in recovery. This summer the government level student numbers despite an increase in requests for check up to 60,000 well-qualified applicants turned away.
But the report also suggests that demand for graduates had fallen. Since 1998, the proportion of youth with a degree in the job has slipped by 3 percentage points. Schleicher said there was no way of knowing whether this was due to over supply of graduates, or the changing labor market.
Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “If the government considers the reversal of the hard-won gains in education spending will return to the UK to be massively disadvantaged when it comes to the level of skills and knowledge needed to compete globally. ”
Michael Gove, shadow schools secretary, said: “The OECD study confirms once more that as a country we are falling behind our international competitors.
David Lammy, higher education and skills minister, said there were no more students than ever before in the UK universities. “We remain committed to ensuring that no young are left behind in these difficult times,” he said.