[Kosh]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4801058.stm


Do you guys think there is some truth to this, or is it just hype?

[Shade]

Probably true. Education budgets seem to be the first thing on the 'top 10 things to cut' list after every election around here. Of course, everyone trying to get elected promises to reverse that trend, but that has yet to materialise. So students have to put up with overworked teachers teaching overfilled classes in unsuited classrooms, with obvious consequences.

[Flipside]

Well, school is no longer 'cool' in most of Europe, it's a growing trend. A fair number of kids tend to do what is 'cool' and then expect the state to compensate for their laziness. Not all kids I hasten to add, but a growing number.

[Ford Prefect]

Well, to be fair, it's my understanding that the schools in many Asian countries are much more regimented and strenuous, and I would sooner disembowel myself than go through their educational systems.

[Martinus]

Uni-bloody-versity.

The UK government are making it so hard to get into uni and so hard to pay your way through uni that a lot of people simply can't or won't invest the money in it. The government is effectively strangling the pool of potential skills for the country.

[Rictor]

I think it's just a matter of higher expectations in Asia. You don't get to "choose" what you're going to do and how you're going to do it - you're going to succeed and the way you're going to do it is through working your ass off every day! Whereas Europe is comfortable enough financially that people can afford to either not go to university, or do it half-assed. Of course I'm generalizing and simplifying, but those who are comfortably off tend not to have as much drive and initiative to succeed at any cost. When you're hungry, getting your piece of the proverbial pie seems that much more important.

[aldo_14]

Uni-bloody-versity.

The UK government are making it so hard to get into uni and so hard to pay your way through uni that a lot of people simply can't or won't invest the money in it. The government is effectively strangling the pool of potential skills for the country.

'cept Scotland, thank christ.  Well, to a lesser degree, at least.