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Britain falls behind Poland and Slovakia as UK plummets in graduate league table
Last updated at 11:17 PM on 7th September 2010
Britain has slipped from third to 15th in a table of countries ranked by their rates of students gaining university degrees.
It now trails the likes of Iceland, Slovakia and Poland, with one union saying the country has gone from being a major player to a relegation candidate.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development claims that the UK used to be at the forefront of higher education finance and provision, but no longer has that competitive advantage.
A report compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says that the UK plunged down the table despite increasing education funding at degree level
In 2000, the UK had the third highest graduation rate (37 per cent), along with Denmark and Norway.
This was nine percentage points higher than the average (28 per cent) and behind only Finland and New Zealand.
But in the latest table, the UK had slipped to 15th place with 35 per cent three percentage points below the average of 38 per cent. Finland led the way with 63 per cent, with Iceland and Slovakia tied for second on 57 per cent.
The OECD collects date from 31 member countries and eight non-member countries.
GRADUATE LEAGUE TABLE
These are the top 15 countries producing graduates in the developed world, according to the OECD:
1 Finland (63%)
2 Iceland (57%)
3 Slovakia (57%)
4 Poland (50%)
5 New Zealand (48%)
6 Denmark (47%)
7 Ireland (46%)
8 Portugal (45%)
9 Netherlands (41%)
10 Norway (41%)
11 Sweden (40%)
12 United States (37%)
13 Czech Republic (36%)
14 Israel (36%)
15 United Kingdom (35%)
In May, the Government announced cuts of £200million to the universities budget, in addition to the £449million of cuts already planned for next year.
OECD spokesman Andreas Schleicher said taxpayers in the UK benefited very significantly from their investment in higher education.
He said: Cutting in education today means youre cutting tax income in the long term.
For many years the UK was very much at the forefront of higher education, both in the nature of provision and the financing. I dont see that competitive advantage any more.
Sally Hunt, of the Universities College Union,said the country has gone from being a major player on the world stage to a relegation candidate in less than a decade.
Miss Hunt added: The coalition Governments refusal to fund fund sufficient university places this summer will come back to haunt us.
Unless urgent and decisive action is taken to reverse the punitive cuts planned, the situation is going to get much worse.
Dr Wendy Piatt, of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, said: While our universities are bracing themselves for a period of austerity and uncertainty, other nations are rightly pumping billions of dollars into their institutions at this key time before the world economy picks up.
If universities were hit by more cuts, she said, we could well be relegated to a lower division of higher education from which we would struggle ever to recover.
Universities Minister David Willetts said: The OECD report shows that our higher education faces some real challenges, which the Government is determined to tackle.'
Cambridge however has become the first British university to top the world rankings.
Harvard, which has headed the prestigious QS World University league table since it was created in 2004, dropped to second.
The UK now has four universities in the top ten. University College London is fourth, Oxford slid from fifth to sixth and Imperial College London is ranked seventh.
There are 30 British institutions in the top 200 a figure beaten only by the United States. The QS rankings measure university research quality and graduate employability.
The findings are based on a survey of 15,000 academics. Their views are combined
with soundings from 5,000 employers.
John OLeary, executive member of the QS advisory board, said: UK universities
have had an exceptionally good year
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...mets-graduate-league-table.html#ixzz0yt4SzrBn
Last updated at 11:17 PM on 7th September 2010
Britain has slipped from third to 15th in a table of countries ranked by their rates of students gaining university degrees.
It now trails the likes of Iceland, Slovakia and Poland, with one union saying the country has gone from being a major player to a relegation candidate.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development claims that the UK used to be at the forefront of higher education finance and provision, but no longer has that competitive advantage.
In 2000, the UK had the third highest graduation rate (37 per cent), along with Denmark and Norway.
This was nine percentage points higher than the average (28 per cent) and behind only Finland and New Zealand.
But in the latest table, the UK had slipped to 15th place with 35 per cent three percentage points below the average of 38 per cent. Finland led the way with 63 per cent, with Iceland and Slovakia tied for second on 57 per cent.
The OECD collects date from 31 member countries and eight non-member countries.
GRADUATE LEAGUE TABLE
These are the top 15 countries producing graduates in the developed world, according to the OECD:
1 Finland (63%)
2 Iceland (57%)
3 Slovakia (57%)
4 Poland (50%)
5 New Zealand (48%)
6 Denmark (47%)
7 Ireland (46%)
8 Portugal (45%)
9 Netherlands (41%)
10 Norway (41%)
11 Sweden (40%)
12 United States (37%)
13 Czech Republic (36%)
14 Israel (36%)
15 United Kingdom (35%)
In May, the Government announced cuts of £200million to the universities budget, in addition to the £449million of cuts already planned for next year.
OECD spokesman Andreas Schleicher said taxpayers in the UK benefited very significantly from their investment in higher education.
He said: Cutting in education today means youre cutting tax income in the long term.
For many years the UK was very much at the forefront of higher education, both in the nature of provision and the financing. I dont see that competitive advantage any more.
Sally Hunt, of the Universities College Union,said the country has gone from being a major player on the world stage to a relegation candidate in less than a decade.
Miss Hunt added: The coalition Governments refusal to fund fund sufficient university places this summer will come back to haunt us.
Unless urgent and decisive action is taken to reverse the punitive cuts planned, the situation is going to get much worse.
Dr Wendy Piatt, of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities, said: While our universities are bracing themselves for a period of austerity and uncertainty, other nations are rightly pumping billions of dollars into their institutions at this key time before the world economy picks up.
If universities were hit by more cuts, she said, we could well be relegated to a lower division of higher education from which we would struggle ever to recover.
Universities Minister David Willetts said: The OECD report shows that our higher education faces some real challenges, which the Government is determined to tackle.'
Cambridge however has become the first British university to top the world rankings.
Harvard, which has headed the prestigious QS World University league table since it was created in 2004, dropped to second.
The UK now has four universities in the top ten. University College London is fourth, Oxford slid from fifth to sixth and Imperial College London is ranked seventh.
There are 30 British institutions in the top 200 a figure beaten only by the United States. The QS rankings measure university research quality and graduate employability.
The findings are based on a survey of 15,000 academics. Their views are combined
with soundings from 5,000 employers.
John OLeary, executive member of the QS advisory board, said: UK universities
have had an exceptionally good year
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...mets-graduate-league-table.html#ixzz0yt4SzrBn
