§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the Education at a Glance 2003: OECD Indicators finding that(a) the calculated high rates of return to tertiary education in the United Kingdom are to an important extent due to relatively short standard university studies and (b) tertiary graduation rates are higher in the 335W United Kingdom that in France and Germany; and what implications these findings will have on reform of the 14 to 19 curriculum. [131955]
§ Alan JohnsonRelatively short duration university studies represent good value for money. Shorter tertiary courses reduce both the direct and indirect costs of the course because, other things being equal, the individual will need to spend less on tuition and their foregone earnings will be lower. Individuals enter the labour market sooner and so have more time to recoup the costs of their investment through higher earnings.
Alongside course duration, the other main cause of high rates of return is the higher graduate premium, ie the high (relative to other countries) pre-tax earnings of UK graduates.
Question addresses two separate OECD indicators, in both of which the UK position is encouraging:
Concerning the ratio of graduates to the population at the typical age of graduation, the UK is towards the upper end at 37.4 per cent. (well above the OECD average of 30.1 per cent.).Concerning the proportion of UK students who complete their tertiary course, at 83 per cent. the UK has one of the best completion rates among OECD countries.The Working Group on 14–19 Reform, which is due to report in 2004, is taking account in its work of available international comparative information.