The Education at a Glance study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals that the UK has the third highest university tuition fees amongst forty-two developed countries, following the United States of America and Korea that hold the first and second place, respectively.
This finding reflects tuition fees for the year 2008; that is, prior to their significant anticipated increase to a maximum of £9,000 per year. While in several counties featuring in the study (including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Mexico, Norway and Sweden) tuition is free, UK students paid on average just over £3,000 a year for their higher education studies in 2008. Tuition fees in Japan and Australia are largely comparable.
According to the report, UK public spend on education stands lower than the overall average for the forty-two surveyed countries, while a shift towards private funding sources is noted. Furthermore, student loans in the UK represent over 25% of total public spend on education in 2008.
OECD further reveals that three-quarters (74%) of young people between 15 to 19 years of age are in education in the UK. This figure compares unfavourably against the overall average for the forty-two countries surveyed (82%), with the UK only performing better against Chile, Israel, Mexico and Turkey.
For more information, please visit: Education at a Glance 2011; UK tuition fees are third highest in developed world, says OECD (The Guardian).
