The OECD published its 2012 Education at a Glance report on Tuesday. Geoff Maslen overviews this key education publication, and we publish an editorial by OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría and extracts from the report.
GLOBAL
Spending on education by countries around the world is rising but access to higher education remains unequal, says the OECD's Education at a Glance 2012. Governments should increase investment in early childhood programmes and maintain reasonable costs for higher education in order to reduce inequality, boost social mobility and improve people’s employment prospects.
GLOBAL
The global education and economic landscapes have been in a state of rapid transformation, spurred in significant part by two key changes. The first is the ascent of the knowledge economy, which has created powerful new incentives to build skills through education. The second is the explosive growth of higher education worldwide.
GLOBAL
In 2010, more than 4.1 million tertiary students were enrolled outside their country of citizenship. Luxembourg, Australia, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland and New Zealand have, in descending order, the highest percentages of international students among their tertiary enrolments.
GLOBAL
Within most OECD countries, the percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds with tertiary attainment is moderately to considerably higher than the percentage of 55- to 64-year-olds with tertiary attainment. Exceptions to this trend include Germany, Israel and the United States.
GLOBAL
OECD and G20 countries vary significantly in the amount of tuition fees charged by their tertiary institutions. For instance, in eight OECD countries, public institutions charge no tuition fees, but in one-third public institutions charge annual fees in excess of US$1,500 for national students.
