Europe's skills fall behind Asia :: BBC News
Class bias cited

Quote:

Europe is falling behind Asia in terms of education and skills, according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It blames France and Germany which are criticised for mediocre education systems and their inherent class bias.

Korean example, quote:

[The report's author Andreas Schleicher] praises the "miracle" of South Korea - a country which in the 1960s had a lower national income than Mexico and South American countries and sat near the bottom of the 30 OECD countries in terms of educational qualifications.

Today, 97% of South Korea's 25 to 34-year-olds have high school education - the highest rate among the main industrialised countries. He says South Korea was transformed by its positive response to a demand for education.
. . .
"The incentives driving these reforms forward was a plethora of merit-based learning opportunities where progress depended on what children were able to do, not where they came from."

Mr Schleicher says this differs from France, Germany and Italy, where class distinction is a cause for concern. "Europeans from difficult socio-economic backgrounds don't receive the same educational opportunities as children from rich and middle-class families," the study said. "In many countries, the data suggest that European schools reinforce existing socio-economic inequities."

Emphasis is mine. Merit is good. Embrace it.

REPORT (pdf)

TAGS: OECD, education, skills, Andreas Schleicher