Europe school pupils lag behind Asian teens

When it comes to maths, science and reading, Europe’s school pupils have a lot of homework to do if they want to catch up with young people in Asia.

That’s according to a new OECD survey published on Tuesday that ranks the skills of more than half a million 15 to 16-year-olds worldwide.

They hail from 65 countries that represent eighty percent of the global economy.

The findings showed that school children from Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong topped the rankings.

Yves Leterme, OECD Deputy Secretary-General, said the survey showed there was a link between a child’s background and their level of the success with their studies.

“There is a very clear connection between the performances at school, performance of school system and the wealth, the GDP performance, the growth of the economies. Some of the Northern European countries have taken on board some problems more actively,” he said.

A German pupil of the same age needs the equivalent of an additional year of schooling to reach their level, the OECD survey said.

Dutch pupils came top of the EU’s class in maths and Finnish teens were Europe’s top performers in science and reading.

The OECD says improving education is key to solving the continent’s youth unemployment crisis and boosting growth.