Source: www.asiaecon.org |

Asia

In a globalizing world, a highly educated labor force will be integral to a country’s economic success. A superior educational system will enable nations to develop highly skilled industries, eliminating infrastructural development

In a globalizing world, a highly educated labor force will be integral to a country’s economic success. A superior educational system will enable nations to develop highly skilled industries, eliminating infrastructural development.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD’s September report Education at a Glance reveals a superior quality of education in East Asia.

Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia, and Japan ranked among the best educational institutions worldwide.

According to this report, the future of higher level jobs will be relocated to Asian countries, unless Europe or the U.S. significantly improves their educational systems.

Amongst the Asian nations, Singapore and South Korea merit further attention, the former because it is second only to Finland and the latter because of the phenomenal progress it has made in recent years.

Singapore Singapore’s educational system has attracted the admiration of nations worldwide. The students are consistently ranked the highest in math and science. Other schools worldwide have modeled their programs after their precedence. 6 However, the system is not without drawbacks. Students in Singapore take exams in the sixth grade to be tracked for further studies. These exams are said to determine their career paths. This system limits opportunities for students whose performance improves as they progress. The schools have also been criticized for their emphasis on rote memorization instead of critical thinking.

The educational system engenders a society in which the ruling elite are the country’s brightest. However, members of the highly stratified society cannot advance very easily. The type of schooling creates a skilled but politically compliant workforce.

In the 1960s, South Korea had a national wealth close to that of Afghanistan with a poor educational system. At present, 97 percent of its population between the ages of 25 and 34 has received an upper secondary school education, the highest among most industrialized nations. The country has also placed second in international math rankings.

South Korea achieved this standard by investing heavily in education to further economic development. People now view education as the means for career advancement and national progress. The amount per student is actually half that in the US, but it has been used with greater efficiency, albeit with more authoritarian education reforms.

Remaining obstacles for Asian nations

Even if a superior educational system is established, a highly skilled work force is not sufficient for economic development. Asian countries still need to create sufficient job opportunities. If education is limited to a certain minority, the economy is likely to lag behind since not enough opportunities are created for the work force as whole.

Source: www.asiaecon.org |