Rabat - Moroccan students are lagging behind peers from other nations in basic math and science skills, a new OECD report has revealed.
Rabat – Moroccan students are lagging behind peers from other nations in basic math and science skills, a new OECD report has revealed.
The kingdom is ranked 73rd in a ranking of school performances across 76 countries conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).
The report ranked each country based on 15-year-old student’s average scores in mathematics and science.
The study was authored by Stanford University professor Erick Hanushek and Munich University professor Ludger Woessmann.
They used a combination of results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
The UAE students are ranked the best in the Middle East and North Africa region. The UAE came 45th out of 76. Iran ranked 51st, Bahrain 57th, Lebanon 58th, Jordan 61st, Tunisia 64th, Saudi Arabia 66th, Qatar 68th, and Oman 72nd. Ghana was last on the list.
The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development study has also found a direct correlation between cognitive skills and economic growth. It has estimated that countries could increase their gross domestic product if students acquired basic skills.
For example, the report claimed that if the U.S. could ensure all its students acquired basic math and science skills, over $27 trillion dollars would be added to the national economy over the course of the students’ working lives.
In addition, a 25 point increase in the UAE’s student PISA scores could increase the country’s gross domestic product by 24 per cent by 2095, the report says.
Asian countries have topped the ranking, with Singapore taking the lead ahead of Hong Kong and South Korea, which ranked second and third place, respectively.
Japan and Taiwan were both ranked fourth. The U.K was ranked in 20th place, while the U.S. came in 28th, below countries including, Hong Kong, Canada and Vietnam.
