Publication - Achieving Sustainable Development Goal for education by 2030 will be major challenge for all countries
15/09/2016 - OECD countries must step up their efforts to improve the quality and equity of their education systems as part of their commitments to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) for education by 2030, according to a new OECD report.
“These findings are sobering. High-quality, accessible education remains a challenge for all countries around the world,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría at the launch of the report in Brussels with European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Tibor Navracsics.** “Improving the efficiency, quality and equity of education is critical to foster inclusive growth and give everyone a fair opportunity to succeed.” (Read the full speech)
Most countries have increased their investment in education in recent years: between 2008 and 2013, student numbers in schools fell by 1% as fewer children were born in the OECD area, but spending per student in real terms was 8% higher in 2013 than in 2008. Spending by students and households has also risen, notably in tertiary education where 30% of expenditure comes from private sources. Between 2008 and 2013, total private expenditure has increased by 14% across the OECD and by 12% in the EU22. While some countries have created funding mechanisms that give more students better opportunities to study, others levy fees that put educational opportunities out-of-reach of all but the wealthiest students.
Many young people have yet to see the benefit of increased spending: across OECD countries, about one in six 25-34 year-olds remains without an upper secondary education. The unemployment rate of young people without an upper secondary education is 17.4% on average (21.2% in the European Union), compared with only 6.9% (in the EU 8.0%) among those in that age group with a tertiary education.
Gender imbalances also persist. While more women than men are now tertiary graduates, women remain underrepresented in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The transition from school to work is also more challenging for women. Across OECD countries, 18.5% of 20-24 year-old women are Neither Employed nor in Education or Training (NEETs), compared to 15.5% of men.
Immigrants tend to lag behind their native‑born peers in educational attainment at all stages, making it more difficult to find a job after leaving education. Participation rates in pre-primary programmes ─ which are critical to the development of childrens’ cognitive, emotional and social skills ─ are considerably lower for immigrant children. On average, 37% of 25‑44 year‑olds with an immigrant background ─ but only 27% of 25-44 year‑olds without an immigrant background ─ whose parents have not attained upper secondary education have not completed upper secondary education themselves. Students with an immigrant background are also much less likely to complete Bachelor’s or equivalent tertiary programmes than native-born students.
The report also questions whether countries are getting the best return on their education investments. Popular pressure pushed governments to reduce class sizes in lower secondary education by 6% from 2005 to 2014, despite evidence from the OECD’s PISA programme that high performing education systems systematically prioritise better teachers over smaller classes. Investments in reducing class size have consumed resources better spent on recruiting and rewarding high quality teachers: from 2005 to 2014, upper secondary teacher salaries increased on average by only 1% in real terms, and decreased in one-third of countries.
Education at a Glance 2016 provides comparable national statistics measuring the state of education worldwide. The report analyses the education systems of the 35 OECD member countries, as well as Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
page source http://www.oecd.org/
