Wales will be surpassed by Romania in education performance by 2040 - study

Wales will be surpassed by Romania in education performance by 2040 - study

A new report warns that within a maximum of five years, Wales will be surpassed by Romania in terms of educational performance. An analysis group issues a warning about education in Wales and calls for urgent reforms.

The study conducted by the center-right expert group Onward found that Welsh students are currently performing at the level of the most disadvantaged students in England, as reported by Daily Express.

The report, titled "Devolved to Fail," mentions that Wales, where education is decentralized and under the coordination of the local government led by the Labour Party, will be caught up by Romania and even surpassed by 2040 if urgent measures are not taken.

The study found that Wales is below the European average and significantly behind England in reading, science, and mathematics according to the Pisa Test conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The report indicates the need for changes, including transforming schools with academic issues into academies and reintroducing rankings.

Furthermore, it calls for replacing competency-based curricula with knowledge-rich ones and immediate implementation of the General School Inspectorate's recommendations for improving student attendance.

"Wales has the lowest education outcomes in the UK - and the gap is set to widen. This is not inevitable. But without urgent reform, Welsh students will be left behind not only by their UK counterparts but globally," said Ellie Craven, lead researcher and author of the report.

Former Conservative minister Simon Clarke, now director of Onward, stated that Welsh students "are terribly let down by a system that avoids accountability and clings to failed methods."

"There is no reason why Welsh children should achieve lower results than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK - but this will remain true if the Welsh government is not bold enough to bring about change or if it is not itself changed in next year's elections to bring in new leadership," he added.

A spokesperson for the Welsh government, however, contested the report's conclusions. "We do not recognize these claims. Our recent GCSE and A-level results show improvements in performance and record results at higher grades, and data from personalized assessments show progress in primary cycle students," he said, as quoted by the English newspaper.

"The education system in Wales is heading in the right direction due to the additional support we provide to schools, ongoing investments, and the hard work of school staff. We will continue to strive to raise educational standards for all," he added.


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