Ireland

Republic ranked last for investment in education, according to new report

The Republic was ranked last for investment in education, according to a new report
The Republic was ranked last for investment in education, according to a new report The Republic was ranked last for investment in education, according to a new report

THE Republic has been ranked in last place out of almost 40 countries for investment in education, according to a new report.

Tuition fees charged by public institutions in the Republic are also among the highest for a bachelor's programme.

The report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) looks at the state of education systems in developed economies.

It ranked the Republic in last place out of 36 developed countries when it comes to investment in education, as a measure of national wealth or gross domestic product (GDP).

It found just 3.3 per cent of GDP was spent on primary to tertiary educational institutions in 2018 - 1.6 percentage points lower than the OECD average.

The 'Education At A Glance 2021' report also states that across levels of education, the Republic devoted a lower share of GDP than the OECD average at both non-tertiary and tertiary levels.

The report also found that tuition fees charged by public institutions are 14 per cent more than students were charged on average in 2009/10. But the report also states that the fees actually paid by national students are considerably lower due to government support.

Data also revealed that the average class size of primary schools is 24, compare to an OECD average of 21 pupils.

But the report also highlighted that the Republic has one of the the highest rates of school completion among OECD countries.

The Republic's minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris said: "We should be very proud of the numbers of people in Ireland who choose to further their education at a tertiary level".