Education at a Glance 2007 –OECD Report.

Commenting on the latest OECD Report on Education Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the UK’s largest teaching union said:

“The Report rebuts the corrosive messages, from those determined to limit the numbers of youngsters going to university, that university expansion has led to a watering down in the value of qualifications.

“No one can ignore the fact that young people who gain 14-19 qualifications and degrees benefit from an earnings premium that lasts throughout their adult lives.

“In this country the message from OECD is unequivocal. Raising the staying- on rate to 18 and expanding the number of university places is good for the country and good for young people. The UK’s investment in early years provides the bedrock for later achievement.

“The next step is to remove the barriers that prevent young people from socially deprived backgrounds from staying on in education after 16.

“The Report shows that primary school class sizes in the United Kingdom are still higher than class sizes in many other industrialised countries and that the gap between the average class size in state and private schools is also one of the widest.

“While Britain has now achieved the average spent on education by industrialised countries there is much more to do. I look to the fulfilling of the Prime Minister’s commitment to match public with private spending on education. Levels of support for youngsters from deprived backgrounds must be raised. State school class sizes must be brought down to private school levels”.