OECD report - More to do but a lot has been done

The latest report on education from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) contains some interesting findings in relation to the performance of this country. The Irish school completion rate has improved dramatically in five years. People were long decrying the drop-out rate in secondary education.

In 2000 the completion rate was just 74% but that jumped to 91% in 2005. Ireland is now one of just seven OECD countries in which nine out of 10 pupils finish their secondary education. The third-level completion rate has also increased to the point where this country now ranks fourth highest.

The number of science graduates has also increased significantly. We are now in the top seven of the OECD for science graduates, and this country is ranked second only to South Korea for the percentage of science graduates among 25 to 34 year-old workers. This should have a significant impact in attracting investment.

Of course, we should not become smug about these developments. We should always strive to improve and never be satisfied with less than the best, but we can take solace from the fact that there has been a significant measure of progress. We can also be proud of the fact that Ireland and Spain provide the most equitable access to third-level education for people from different social backgrounds.

Teachers’ salaries in Ireland are significantly higher than the OECD average. For instance, an Irish primary teacher with 15 years’ experience earns 24% more than the OECD average.

This country is ranked in the lower half for expenditure on all levels of education — providing less than both the OECD and EU averages at both primary and secondary levels.

Nevertheless, Irish spending on primary and secondary education increased by 74% in the 10 years from 1995 to 2004, even though there was a drop of 4% in the number of pupils. This amounted to an 81% increase in spending per student across primary level, second level and further education.

There was a 26% increase in third-level spending, but — unlike the decline in the number of pupils at primary and secondary levels — the number of third-level students increased by 40%, with the result the average spending on each student at that level was diluted.

Since 1995 the proportion of spending on all levels of education in relation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has declined from 5.2% in 1995 to 4.6% in 2005.

As a result this country ranks almost at the bottom, in comparison to an OECD average of 5.8% and EU average of 5.4%.

Using GDP in Ireland’s case is somewhat misleading, because this includes wealth generated by multi-nationals that does not stay in this country. There certainly is room for further improvement, but a lot has been done.