Singapore’s Education Ranks Ahead of UK, Australia, Canada & USA

According to BBC UK news, Singapore education is ranked Top 5th in global league table. The first and second places are taken by Finland and South Korea.

The rankings combine international test results and data such as graduation rates between 2006 and 2010.

Sir Michael Barber, Pearson's chief education adviser, says successful countries give teachers a high status and have a "culture" of education.

The weightings for the rankings h

ave been produced for Pearson by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Global competition
The two education superpowers - Finland and South Korea - are followed by three other high-performing Asian education systems - Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

Looking at education systems that succeed, the study concludes that spending is important, but not as much as having a culture that is supportive of learning. It says that spending is easier to measure, but the more complex impact of a society's attitude to education can make a big difference.

The success of Asian countries in these rankings reflects the high value attached to education and the expectations of parents.

The UK was found to have the second best education system in Europe, ahead of countries such as Switzerland, Denmark and Germany which were ranked 9th, 12th and 15th respectively.

The research is designed to help policymakers, school leaders and academics identify the key factors which drive improved educational outcomes.

For educational attainment, based on literacy and graduation rates from schools and colleges, the UK is second only to South Korea, while Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan were ranked highly in the cognitive ability category based on international tests.

While investing in education "undoubtedly reaps rewards", the report - called the Learning Curve - suggested that a culture of support for education is probably more important. It also added that there was no substitute for high quality teaching. "The best performing countries attract top talent, train teachers throughout their careers and allow them freedom too" the report stated.


Learning Curve top 20 countries for education:
1. Finland
2. South Korea,
3. Hong Kong,
4. Japan,
5. Singapore,
6. UK,
7. Netherlands,
8. New Zealand,
9. Switzerland,
10. Canada,
11. Ireland,
12. Denmark,
13. Australia,
14. Poland,
15. Germany,
16. Belgium,
17. USA,
18. Hungary,
19. Slovakia,
20. Russia

Source: FamilyGP news - Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Singapore is rich expats' top place to live and work: Survey

By Aaron Low
The Straits Times
Thursday, Oct 11, 2012

SINGAPORE - Singapore has emerged as the top place for wealthy expatriates to live and work in, a new survey by HSBC Bank has shown.

Expats in the survey ranked Singapore first out of 30 countries based on economic factors such as earning power, disposable income and ability to accumulate luxuries.

Thailand was in the second spot, followed by Cayman Islands in third place.

About 44 per cent of respondents said they saw a 50 per cent or more increase in their disposable income after they relocated to Singapore, the report said.

The report, which surveyed more than 5,000 expats in 100 countries, also said that 54 per cent of expats here earned more than US$200,000 (S$246,000) a year.

They also ranked Singapore highly for its quality of life, placing the Republic fourth overall, especially for its safe environment in which to bring up children.

Singapore was ranked second in Asia, after Thailand, for quality of life. About 76 per cent of expats in the Republic say they are experiencing a better quality of life after relocating here.

Mr Paul Arrowsmith, head of retail banking and wealth management at HSBC Singapore, said the report showed that Singapore "is fast becoming an all-round expat destination for career progression, financial rewards and quality of life".

But the report also flagged the worrying trend of expats not integrating well in Singapore.

Just 19 per cent here strongly agree that they have integrated well into the local community, while 41 per cent strongly agree that they tend to socialise with other expats rather than locals.

Human resource analysts said the survey did not seem to be fully representative of the expat population here.

They noted that the sample size of expats for the survey here was just 54.

And Mr Phil Stanley, Mercer's Asia-Pacific global mobility centre of excellence leader, said that of the respondents, 46 per cent were from the banking industry.

"The other reason could simply be due to the profile of the individuals targeted to participate in this survey, who may be those at higher income levels," he said.