Ireland ranks in last place in OECD for investment in education

Ireland ranks last out of 36 developed countries for investment in education as a measure of our national wealth or gross domestic product (GDP), according to latest OECD data.

Economists say the presence of multinationals distorts our GDP figures, but education unions say the figures confirm the extent of under-investment in our schools.

The annual Education At A Glance 2021 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development shows spending on education â€" ranging from primary to higher and further education â€" in Ireland accounts for 3.3 per cent of our GDP in 2018.

This compares to an EU average of 4.4 per cent and is significantly behind top-performers such as Norway on 6.6 per cent.

Equity

Data also indicates Ireland performs well in areas of equity across the education system and has the lowest proportion of under-performing pupils in disadvantaged areas.

The proportion of students completing school is particularly high in Ireland. Some 93 per cent of 15- to 19-year-olds are enrolled in second-level education compared to the OECD average of 84 per cent.

Ireland has fewer children from lower socio-economic groups performing at the lowest level in standardised tests -- 16 per cent compared to the OECD average of 29 per cent.

A positive outcome is also reflected in data that shows the difference between native-born and foreign born young people who are not in education or training. In Ireland, the different is 2 per centage points compared to the OECD average of 5 per cent.

Salaries

The salaries of school staff represent the largest single expenditure in education.

Between 2005 and 2020, the salaries of teachers with 15 years of experience increased by 2 to 3 per cent at primary and secondary levels across OECD countries.

In Ireland, however, teachers’ salaries increased by 16 to 17 per cent over the same time period.

Average salaries for teachers across the OECD were â€" after conversion to US dollars â€" $45, 687 (€38,683) at primary and $51, 749 at second level..

In Ireland, they were significantly higher at $59 204 for primary and $61,652 for second level.

They lagged behind countries such as Germany which had some of the highest average salaries at both primary â€" €76,997 â€" and second level â€" €89,816.

Teachers in Ireland are required to teach for longer than their colleagues in OECD countries. Teachers here are required to teach 909 hours per year at primary level, 704 hours at second level.

This contrasts with an OECD average of 791 hours at primary and 685 hours at second level in 2020.

Covid-19

The spread of Covid-19 continued to impede access to in-person education in many countries around the world in 2021.

By mid-May of this year, all OECD countries had experienced periods of full school closure since the start of 2020.

The number of days when schools were fully closed due to the pandemic varies significantly between countries and tended to increase with the level of education.

Ireland, however, was an exception. In Ireland, pre-schools were fully closed for an average of 72 days between January 2020 and May 2021, while primary schools closed for at least 96 days and secondary for 72 days.

In comparison, across the OECD, pre-schools closed for an average of 55 days, primary for 78 days and secondary for 101 days on average.

Reaction

In response to the figures, the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) president Eamon Dennehy said ongoing failure to invest in our schools will have long-term social and economic consequences for individuals and our society.

“If we take GDP as a measure of national wealth, it is unacceptable that a rich country like Ireland remains at the bottom of the global rankings,” he said.

“The pandemic has dramatically underlined how important schools are to children, families and communities.

“It has also demonstrated that large classes, insufficient staffing, inadequate accommodation and ventilation are undermining the capacity of schools to provide a safe environment for quality education.”

Mr Dennehy said a key objective of Budget 2022 must be to increase investment in education.

“We need more classrooms, more communal spaces, better ventilation and overall physical infrastructure. Above all, we need more teachers to provide the range of learning and wellbeing opportunities demanded by current education policy.”

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