Education gap in Europe
It’s been known for some time now that Europe is doing too little to improve educational standards. Good educational facilities are the backbone of any modern economy. Europe risks lagging behind two emerging economies, China and India. Improving education in the European Union is one of the goals of the Lisbon conference. EU states agreed to make the European Union the most technically advanced economy in the world. Many of the goals are most likely not to be reached according to experts. Differences within Europe are becoming huge as well with the Northern countries investing more in education than their Southern counterparts.
The study lists countries according to a “human capital index” that considers educational facilities in 13 countries correlated with employment, productivity and demography. The findings point to increasing social as well as economic divergence in the European Union.
The study warned that if present trends continue, for example, “the citizens of Germany and Italy could find themselves with 50 percent lower gross domestic product per head than people in Sweden, Ireland or the United Kingdom by 2030.”
It said Sweden invests twice as many resources in school, university and adult education as Italy or Spain.
In general, Europe spends less on education than its peers in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,” the report said.It added, “Europe’s current competitive edge in a globalised world, its highly educated work force will stay competitive only with higher and better public sector investments.
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Administrator @ October 11, 2006