ID :
207014
Wed, 09/14/2011 - 09:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/207014
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's college completion rate highest among OECD countries
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has the highest rate of young adults completing high school and college among the member countries of the Organization of the Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a survey showed.
The OECD's annual Education at a Glance survey, based mostly on statistics from 2009, showed that 98 percent of South Koreans aged 25-34 graduated from high school while 63 percent completed college, the highest rates among the 34 members of the rich nations' club.
The result was released Tuesday.
It marked the third consecutive time that South Korea has topped the list of high school education among the age group in the annual survey. The results also marked the second time in a row that the country has ranked No. 1 in the college education rate in the age bracket.
The survey was conducted on 42 countries -- 34 OECD member countries together with eight non-member major economies such as China and India.
College tuitions in South Korea were also high.
The yearly tuition at the country's national and other public universities and graduate schools was US$5,315 on average, the highest only after the U.S. of $6,312.
The figures were based on purchasing power parity (PPP), the conservative index used to compare price levels for different countries.
Despite the highest level of tuition, the government spent 4.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on public education in 2008, below the OECD average of 5 percent, while the country's private sector shouldered the highest burden for it among the surveyed countries for 11 consecutive years, the report showed.
There has been public outcry in the country over soaring college tuition, leading the government and the ruling party to agree to earmark 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) in next year's budget to provide subsidies for students from lower-income families.
The OECD's annual Education at a Glance survey, based mostly on statistics from 2009, showed that 98 percent of South Koreans aged 25-34 graduated from high school while 63 percent completed college, the highest rates among the 34 members of the rich nations' club.
The result was released Tuesday.
It marked the third consecutive time that South Korea has topped the list of high school education among the age group in the annual survey. The results also marked the second time in a row that the country has ranked No. 1 in the college education rate in the age bracket.
The survey was conducted on 42 countries -- 34 OECD member countries together with eight non-member major economies such as China and India.
College tuitions in South Korea were also high.
The yearly tuition at the country's national and other public universities and graduate schools was US$5,315 on average, the highest only after the U.S. of $6,312.
The figures were based on purchasing power parity (PPP), the conservative index used to compare price levels for different countries.
Despite the highest level of tuition, the government spent 4.7 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) on public education in 2008, below the OECD average of 5 percent, while the country's private sector shouldered the highest burden for it among the surveyed countries for 11 consecutive years, the report showed.
There has been public outcry in the country over soaring college tuition, leading the government and the ruling party to agree to earmark 1.5 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) in next year's budget to provide subsidies for students from lower-income families.
