Dubai Telegraph - Asian countries score high in key education survey

EUR -
AED 3.826681
AFN 70.327616
ALL 98.192804
AMD 406.067937
ANG 1.879076
AOA 951.190259
ARS 1045.840133
AUD 1.601828
AWG 1.877897
AZN 1.775245
BAM 1.957546
BBD 2.105077
BDT 124.589901
BGN 1.956284
BHD 0.392592
BIF 3016.094951
BMD 1.041829
BND 1.405287
BOB 7.204528
BRL 6.043693
BSD 1.04263
BTN 88.005286
BWP 14.243906
BYN 3.412124
BYR 20419.848375
BZD 2.101624
CAD 1.456946
CDF 2991.091432
CHF 0.930994
CLF 0.037254
CLP 1027.952249
CNY 7.54601
CNH 7.562783
COP 4605.144632
CRC 531.073558
CUC 1.041829
CUP 27.608468
CVE 110.75048
CZK 25.343745
DJF 185.15426
DKK 7.457312
DOP 62.978972
DZD 139.891631
EGP 51.726992
ERN 15.627435
ETB 128.155793
FJD 2.371151
FKP 0.822333
GBP 0.831468
GEL 2.855018
GGP 0.822333
GHS 16.464915
GIP 0.822333
GMD 73.970229
GNF 8992.026458
GTQ 8.048177
GYD 218.127645
HKD 8.109446
HNL 26.28575
HRK 7.431636
HTG 136.86204
HUF 411.533277
IDR 16610.452733
ILS 3.863061
IMP 0.822333
INR 87.968134
IQD 1365.316903
IRR 43834.955489
ISK 145.523076
JEP 0.822333
JMD 166.09811
JOD 0.738765
JPY 161.242873
KES 134.920816
KGS 90.122166
KHR 4220.449639
KMF 492.268155
KPW 937.645704
KRW 1463.259646
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.868887
KZT 520.591707
LAK 22878.565176
LBP 93347.878651
LKR 303.450587
LRD 187.529583
LSL 18.888757
LTL 3.076251
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.089375
MAD 10.49591
MDL 19.017231
MGA 4865.341785
MKD 61.54739
MMK 3383.819949
MNT 3540.134882
MOP 8.359474
MRU 41.574227
MUR 48.810083
MVR 16.10707
MWK 1807.573672
MXN 21.281613
MYR 4.654932
MZN 66.583684
NAD 18.888753
NGN 1767.675143
NIO 38.287608
NOK 11.531328
NPR 140.808938
NZD 1.78585
OMR 0.401107
PAB 1.042655
PEN 3.952739
PGK 4.194144
PHP 61.404399
PKR 289.423952
PLN 4.338074
PYG 8139.257775
QAR 3.792783
RON 4.976404
RSD 117.038068
RUB 108.671879
RWF 1427.305728
SAR 3.911717
SBD 8.734231
SCR 14.879628
SDG 626.663972
SEK 11.501974
SGD 1.402827
SHP 0.822333
SLE 23.68116
SLL 21846.638123
SOS 595.409088
SRD 36.978718
STD 21563.75683
SVC 9.123047
SYP 2617.626467
SZL 18.888745
THB 35.91223
TJS 11.103861
TMT 3.646401
TND 3.313541
TOP 2.440072
TRY 36.018972
TTD 7.081314
TWD 33.946439
TZS 2771.265486
UAH 43.133048
UGX 3852.435216
USD 1.041829
UYU 44.339112
UZS 13366.666402
VES 48.506662
VND 26482.251319
VUV 123.688032
WST 2.90836
XAF 656.558208
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815595
XDR 0.793126
XOF 650.625955
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379151
ZAR 18.862746
ZMK 9377.71492
ZMW 28.802098
ZWL 335.468513
  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

Asian countries score high in key education survey
Asian countries score high in key education survey / Photo: SIMIN WANG - AFP

Asian countries score high in key education survey

Asian countries dominated the top spots in a keenly watched survey of education capabilities published Tuesday, while levels in Europe slipped at a record pace -- and not just because of Covid.

Text size:

However, the report also showed that students in top performing countries were not necessarily happier.

The PISA survey is carried out every three years by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to assess the ability of 15-year-olds to meet real-life challenges.

"The Pisa 2022 results show a fall in student performance that is unprecedented in Pisa's history," OECD education analyst Irene Hu told reporters.

Singapore took top ranking in the latest assessment, which was carried out in 2022 and involved 690,000 students in 81 participating countries and economies.

The south-east Asian island city state scored highest in all three of the survey's areas: mathematics, reading and science.

"These results suggest that, on average, Singaporean students are the equivalent of almost three to five years of schooling ahead of their peers," the report said.

Five other Asian education systems -- in Macao, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea -- came next in mathematics, and also scored near the top in reading and science.

But while Asia did well, other parts of the world declined, sparking an overall "unprecedented drop in performance", the report said.

Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland, for example, all saw notably lower achievements in mathematics, it said.

- 'Not just about Covid' -

Covid-19 shutdowns hurt education standards, the report said, but there were also other factors behind the downturn.

Students in Finland, Iceland and Sweden -- once star performers -- have been scoring lower marks for years.

"This indicates that long-term issues in education systems are also to blame for the drop in performance," it said. "It is not just about Covid."

A key factor is "the level of support pupils received from teachers and school staff", the OECD's Hu said.

Some education systems have not given sufficient resources for supporting students, said Eric Charbonnier, another OECD education analyst.

"Countries have invested in education over the past 10 years, but maybe they didn't invest efficiently, or sufficiently into the quality of teaching," he said.

"We also see less parental involvement with the progress of children compared to 2018," he added.

While there was some correlation between spending and academic performance, "history shows that countries determined to build a first-class education system can achieve this even in adverse economic circumstances", the report said.

"The world is no longer strictly divided between rich and well-educated nations and poor and badly-educated ones", it said.

In some cases, 2022's drop in skills amounted to roughly a year's worth of education.

"For example, in mathematics, in Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal and Sweden, the average 15-year-old in 2022 scored at the level expected of a 14-year-old in 2018," the report said.

The best European performer was Estonia. The EU's two biggest countries, Germany and France, ranked below Switzerland, Ireland, Belgium and Britain.

"Germany is more worrying than France," said Charbonnier, adding that Norway and Finland also declined more than France.

The US education system showed little change from the last survey, with students there weaker in mathematics, and slightly above average in reading and science.

- 'Fear of failure' -

For the first time, the OECD also examined the happiness of students, using nine aspects of their lives to measure their well-being.

They include engagement with school, material and cultural well-being, openness to diversity and psychological well-being.

This showed that in top maths performers Singapore, Macao and Taiwan, "many students reported a high fear of failure and limited engagement in extracurricular activities such as sports".

In contrast, with students in countries with lower average PISA test scores, such as Spain and Peru, researchers often found "lower levels of anxiety and a greater focus on sports".

Y.Chaudhry--DT