When it comes to scales measuring how much a country is developed, education is a major indicator. Recent statistical data shared by the World of Statistics on Twitter showed a list of the top ten most educated countries in the world.
Canada tops the list of the most educated countries, followed by Russia, Japan, Luxembourg, South Korea, Israel, the United States, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Despite the focus on education and increased spending on the education system, India is struggling to make the list.
Canada is a leading country in terms of education. According to the OECD, more than 60% of adults in the Great White North have completed secondary school.
According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the education of Canadians is the country’s most valuable asset, he said at the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos.
He said that education is the key to helping people learn, think and adapt. “Our natural resources are and always will be significant. However, Canadians are aware that it needs more than simply what is under our feet to thrive and prosper.
Canada is followed by countries like Russia, Japan, Luxembourg and South Korea. The United States of America seems to have slipped off a rank as it was on number six according to the same list released in previous years.
Notably, India spent around 3.1% of its GDP on education in 2019-20, as per the Economic Survey. An increase in spending and an enhanced education policy at a national level will surely help India in improving the quality of education it provides.
Recently, PM Narendra Modi launched the Schools of Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme on September 5. As per the new scheme, India will upgrade as many as 14,500 schools to reflect the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020’s key features to reorient India’s education policy.
According to the Economic Survey, the budget for education spending rose by 20 percent during the Covid-19 pandemic, compared to approximately 73 per cent in the health sector, in 2021-22.
It further stated that the combined expenditure for the centre and state expenditure on education increased from Rs 3.54 trillion in 2014-15 to Rs 6.97 trillion in 2021-22.