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.

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Evidence that some high-ranking universities are willing to accept applicants from China and India who are less skilled than those in the United Kingdom has emerged from a Sunday Times investigation, write Geraldine Hackett and Max Colchester.

The results suggest that cash-tied universities bend the rules to admit international students who, unlike the British, to pay all the fees of 27,000 pounds sterling a degree of art.

Admission tutors for various courses in Edinburgh, Manchester and Sheffield said he would be willing to accept a candidate who had failed to achieve the normal A-level requirements for their course.

The tutors – who thought they were talking to the guardian of a 17-year-old Chinese student studying A-levels at a top private school in England – said international students did not always have to meet the academic standards that apply to other applicants .

A vice-chancellor, who refused to be identified, said that students are moved to house students in some of the best universities do not have the physical space to expand. “The government has created a perverse incentive that means international students bring more money than students in the UK,” he said.

Universities earn far less than the United Kingdom and European students, even with the subsidy and fees of £ 9000 for a period of three years of degree.

International students generate more than £ 2 billion a year in fees for higher education, but public universities state that foreign students have to be as good as other students.

While some universities refused concessions to foreign students, three told the reporter that they can be treated more favorably. ”

In Edinburgh, where the number of students abroad has more than doubled since 2002, a professor of admission to a degree course which requires three input states “as fierce for applicants abroad.

The supervisor told the reporter: “If she is a foreigner seeking to change that… AAB with a prediction can offer.”

The reporter asked: “Is it purely to pay, because they’re paying more money?”

Tutor: “Yes. Reporter: “Do you think it is fair?”

Tutor: “That’s not for me to say.”

A professor of admission in Manchester asked if the student would have a place where Chinese undershot by a grade.

Guardian: “As a foreign student may be more lenient. If she was paying rates on the outside, yes, then maybe… I think that is probably more lenient.”

The pattern was repeated in Sheffield. One admissions tutor said: “If she is counted as an international student I have to say that there was another way… This is because the University encourages the greatest possible number of students.

“Our basic requirement is AAB, while not calling for international students… I’m not promising anything, but if an international student is different.”

Scholars have insisted that the universities to recruit international students because they had no way of raising funds for education.

Bruce Charlton, a professor at the University of Newcastle, said: “Universities are desperately scrabbling for market share. The incentive is to admit that nobody can pay these big fees. It is the fault of the government. It sets out the rates and the number of students in the United Kingdom and Europe. ”

Over the past 15 years the numbers of undergraduates have more than doubled, while public funding per student has fallen by 37%.

Manchester said that there are times when the courses to groups may be different, because the house numbers are limited by the government.

However, he insisted that the other universities were not given preferential treatment to applicants abroad. Alan Mackay, head of the international office in Edinburgh, said that the best of his knowledge of foreign students were admitted with lower grades.

Malcolm Grant, chairman of the Russell Group of universities, said: “It would be wise to admit students who lack the capacity to do well.”

However, an Internet chat room for Chinese adolescents gives a different impression. Last week a message read: “You can give [sic] of British universities: high fees, so it is a great attraction for universities. Generally, you will offer if you send the application.”

Barry Sheerman, chairman of the Commons education committee, said it would be wrong if the universities are reducing the entry requirements for foreign students: “We want a diverse intake in our universities, but the same should be required of all students.

His committee is investigating the financing of the university. “We will examine this issue,” he said.

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The number of foreign students applying to British universities could enjoy a boost because of the pound’s plunge, giving UK institutions an advantage over US competitors in their battle for international prestige.

Research from iGraduate, a higher education research group, shows the cost of studying in the UK has fallen sharply for many foreign students, particularly Asians. Britain has become 46 per cent cheaper for Chinese applicants over the past year, and 29 per cent cheaper for Malaysians. The cost for Indian applicants has dropped 10 per cent.


Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics, which takes a majority of students from abroad, said: “The currency really does help us. When we were at two bucks to the pound, the total cost of coming to the LSE and living in London was really bumping up against the price of Columbia and Princeton, places that we see as our direct competitors.”

The University of Nottingham’s International Office said the weaker pound gave it an advantage over universities in the US, Singapore and Japan, but currency fluctuations meant British institutions faced strong competition for Asian students from Australia. Early figures from Ucas, the central applications body for UK universities, show the number of non-British applicants for 2009 entry has risen 11.1 per cent year-on-year. The figures comprise students who have applied for medicine, dentistry, veterinary sciences and Oxbridge entry. There was a 24.4 per cent increase in early applicants from Singapore, up from 772 last year to 961. The number from mainland China was up 3.2 per cent, with a 7.7 per cent rise for India.

A spokesman for Manchester university said applications from overseas students had risen from last year.

Dr Stéphan Vincent-Lancrin, a senior education analyst at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, said: “A weak pound will make the UK higher education more competitive against other Anglophone systems.”

He added: “Cost to the students is only one factor among many. In the case of Asian students, we know that the country’s reputation in higher education is the first determinant in their choice. Perceived overall quality is important, and with flattering ranks in international rankings the UK has probably strengthened its external reputation.”

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Barack Obama’s historic election could hit the ability of British universities to recruit lucrative overseas students. Universities in the UK have benefited from the negative perception of America around the world since the September 11 terrorist attacks and the tightening of visa requirements that followed. But it is thought “4/11″ could be just as significant as “9/11″ in terms of its impact on international student recruitment, with many now choosing to attend American universities.


Tougher US visa restrictions that came in after the September 11 attacks have recently been lifted. American universities are actively trying to recruit overseas students once more, just as the British government tightens visa arrangements.

It is estimated that international students bring £3.5bn to UK universities each year and up to £10bn to the British economy as a whole.

Dominic Scott, chief executive of the UK Council for International Student Affairs, said there will inevitably be a shift in perception as a result of Obama’s victory that will work to the advantage of the US. “The Obama success puts us into a whole new chapter and 4/11 could well be as powerful and influential as 9/11.” He said the US would “without doubt” become more attractive as a destination, and UK institutions would have to raise their standard of service to hold on to current market share and avoid being “swept aside by the sleeping giant”.

“The government will also have to ensure that the new points-based system – together with biometrics and identity cards – is introduced as efficiently as possible and that visa charges continue to be held at current rates,” Scott said. On the other hand, Scott conceded, the political changes could also lead to an influx of more “open-minded” US students with a global perspective deciding to come to the UK to study.

Will Archer, director of i-Graduate which conducts surveys of international student recruitment, said the date of Obama’s election was significant as it would mark the start of a change in sentiment towards the US. But international students are an expanding market, so universities will not necessarily see an immediate impact

Pat Killingley, director of higher education at the British Council, said it was too early to predict the impact of the US election. “Obama’s policy on immigration and education is likely to be much more important than any feelgood factor coming from the election,” she said.

“These students are attracted here by the quality of the educational experience on offer, as well as the opportunity to take part in world class research.

“We continue to work with universities and colleges to improve the visibility of our higher education sector on the global stage, which is important for protecting and enhancing the supply of international students to the UK.”

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UK graduates are missing out on high-flying international jobs because fewer of them are choosing to study abroad as part of their degree.

New research presented today by the Council for Industry and Higher Education (CIHE) found that international businesses are increasingly seeking graduates who have a global awareness, particularly those who have the initiative to study overseas as part of their learning.

Graduates who have studied abroad tend to be more culturally aware, able to work in multicultural teams and move around the world as part of their career. But UK graduates are less competitive in the international job market as they are now less likely to study overseas than they used to.

The report – Global Horizons and the Role of Employers – calls for better support from universities and funding bodies to help UK students gain experience of studying abroad.

A survey of international graduates as part of the report, showed they think they are more likely to have higher paid jobs at more senior positions and spend less time seeking those jobs either than UK graduates or those in their home country who did not travel to the UK.

Richard Brown, chief executive of the CIHE, said: “The UK can be the preferred worldwide location for mobile students and global recruiters. “Businesses consider that the UK develops some of the best graduates in the world. But our home-grown ones need to get that wider global perspective.”

“Universities could help by developing more partnerships with overseas universities that involve more student and staff exchanges,” he added.

Launching the report, Keith Dugdale, director of global recruitment at KPMG, said: “KPMG like many other UK firms recruits globally. We want the best wherever they may be.

“The UK develops some great talent. It attracts some of the best from around the world. We will recruit that talent but to remain competitive we want to see more UK graduates developing a global perspective through international experience.

“They will have to work with global clients and mix with a range of people from different cultures. They have to be at home with cultural differences.”

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