By Martin Banks - 26th January 2010
If all OECD countries in Europe could raise their educational performance to Finland's level, the result could be an aggregate GDP increase of $200 trillion
Andreas Schleicher
The European commission's deputy DG for education has admitted that "more needs to be done" in tackling low educational standards in many member states.
Speaking in Brussels on Monday, Jan Truszcynski said "particular" attention should be paid to raising standards in maths and science.
The official also wants member states to address the high number of school drop-outs.
Truszczynski told a debate, organised by the Brussels-based Lisbon Council think tank, that "better use" could be made of the EU "instruments" available to member states to help raise educational performance in member states.
Truszczynski, who is due to become the dirctor general for education and culture in May, also said his home country, Poland, could be seen as a model for some other EU countries to follow in how educational levels could be raised over a relatively short space of time.
In the Polish case, this had been achieved by a radical overhaul of its education system and increased investment in education.
Education analyst Andreas Schleicher told the lunch debate that governments could create "enormous" economic benefits if they committed "more deeply" to education-related spending.
Schleicher, special advisor on education to the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), presented the results of a study which he said shows how investment in education yields strong economic and social benefits.
"If, for example, all OECD countries in Europe could raise their educational performance to Finland's level, the result could be an aggregate GDP increase of $200 trillion," he said.
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