Universities UK questioned today how long the UK can maintain its world-class position in the field of higher education, as OECD figures published today continue to show the UK under-investing in its universities compared to international competitors.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) figures are published as university heads gather this week (7 – 9 September) for Universities UK's annual members' conference, taking place this year at Cranfield University.
Professor Steve Smith, President of Universities UK, said: “It remains a striking fact that higher education in the UK is second only to the United States by a variety of measures, but we spend less than the OECD average as a proportion of GDP. The UK still shows below average levels of total investment in higher education institutions, with 1.3 per cent of GDP invested in HE compared to the 1.5 per cent OECD average. This points to the UK being a highly efficient system, but we must question the sustainability of this position. At a time when many of our competitors are investing in higher education and research as a way out of the recession, we cannot afford to be left behind.
“We're encouraged by the OECD's recognition of the vital economic and social importance of higher education.”
In their analysis, the OECD states that, 'even after taking account of the cost to the public exchequer of financing degree courses, higher tax revenues and social contributions from people with university degrees make tertiary education a good long-term investment'.
Professor Smith added: “Today's figures also show the UK continuing to perform well internationally in terms of its universities. Graduates from UK universities retain earning premiums above the OECD average and the number of students completing their programmes in the UK is also significantly above the average (81%).
“The UK retains its second place as most popular destination for international students (10% of the international student market), but as with previous years, this advantage has decreased with countries such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand increasing their market share.”
Notes
- The OECD report, Education at a Glance 2010, is available to download from: www.oecd.org/
- The level of public investment in HE of 0.7% of GDP, is below the OECD average of 1.0%, with the figure for private investment of 0.6% slightly above the OECD average (0.5%) but significantly below competitor countries such as the US (2.1%), Australia (0.9%), Canada (1.1%) and Korea (1.9%).
- Universities UK’s members’ annual conference takes place at Cranfield University from 7 - 9 September 2010. Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts will address members on the morning of Thursday 9 September following the keynote speech from Universities UK President Professor Steve Smith. The Universities UK press office can be contacted at the conference in Cranfield University on 07766 997091 or email pressunit@universitiesuk.ac.uk