UK slumpsto 15th inworld forgraduates

The country’s rate of students gaining degrees plummeted from the top four among developed nations to 15th, trailing the likes of Poland, Iceland, Portugal and Slovakia.

A union said the results, compiled by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), showed the UK went “from a major player to a relegation candidate”.

The UK plunged down the table despite increasing education funding at degree level, the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2010 report said.

Competition is intensifying among countries as Governments realise the importance of world-class quality in their education systems to ensure long-term economic growth, according to the OECD report.

Announcing results in London, Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD’s indicators and analysis division, said Finland, Canada and Japan were now major players in higher education.

“For many years the UK was very much at the forefront,” he added. “But now you do not see that competitive advantage.”

The University and College Union says the UK is in danger of being left behind.

Sally Hunt, UCU general secretary, said: “We have plummeted down the graduate league table, going from a major player to a relegation candidate in less than a decade. The coalition Government’s refusal to fund sufficient university places this summer will come back to haunt us.

In 2000, the UK (37 per cent) was nine percentage points higher than the OECD average (28 per cent) – yet in 2008 the UK (35 per cent) was three percentage points below the OECD average (38 per cent).