people and planet

12
from upper secondary school have the right to enrol
in tertiary education but have to perform well during
their first year to continue (Orr and Hovdhaugen, 2014).
According to the UIS, among 53 countries with relevant
data, 92% of secondary school graduates, on average,
have direct access to tertiary education – but the
rates range as low as 61% in Mali, 43% in Mongolia and
71% in Poland.
Entry indicators. Two examples can be considered. First,
the transition rate from upper secondary to tertiary
TABLE 12.2:
Indicators of tertiary education
Phase Process Indicator
1. Pre-entry Qualification Share of people of secondary school graduation age (e.g. 18 years)
who leave secondary education with a qualification that enables
them to apply to enter tertiary education (secondary gross
graduation rate with direct access to tertiary)
Application Share of people of secondary school graduation age (e.g. 18 years)
who complete the central entrance examination (where relevant)
2. Entry Offer Share of people who qualified or applied and received an offer of a
tertiary education study place
Transition Share of people who enrolled in the final grade of secondary
education the previous year who were admitted into tertiary
education this year (transition rate)
Entry
Share of people of tertiary education entry age (e.g. 19 years) who
enrol in first year of tertiary education (entry ratio)
3. Participation Enrolment Share of people who enrol in tertiary education among those of
tertiary education age (usually a five-year age group, e.g. 19 to 23)
(gross enrolment ratio)
Dropout
Share of students who entered tertiary education who drop out
4. Graduation Share of people who completed tertiary education among those
of tertiary education graduation age (usually a five-year age
group, e.g. 25 to 29) (attainment rate)
Source: UIS database.
education, i.e. the number of students enrolled in the
first year of tertiary education expressed as a percentage
of the number of students who were enrolled in the
last year of secondary education. Among 42 countries
with data, the average was 78%. Second, the entry ratio,
i.e. the number of students enrolled in the first year of
tertiary education expressed as a percentage of the
population of that age group. Among 53 countries with
data, the intake ranged from 5% in Eritrea to 90% in
Belarus (Figure 12.3).
Participation indicators. Enrolment in tertiary education
has grown steadily, doubling from 100 million students
worldwide in 2000 to 207 million in 2014 (Table 12.3).
The tertiary education gross enrolment ratio, which
expresses enrolment as a percentage of the population
of the five-year age group following secondary school
graduation (typically ages 19 to 23) increased from 19%
to 34% over the period. The ratio ranges from 8% in sub-
Saharan Africa to 75% in Europe and Northern America.
These figures may hide important differences between
countries. In countries where part-time and older
students are more likely to enrol, participation rates
will be inflated. Likewise, countries with more credit
requirements spread out over more years will have higher
participation rates than countries where shorter-cycle
bachelor’s programmes are more common.
Graduation indicators. Two sources can be used.
Administrative data provide information on the number
of degrees awarded. Surveys and censuses ask individuals
directly what is their highest level of education attained.
FIGURE 12.3:
There are huge disparities across countries in terms of access to tertiary education
Gross entry ratio to first tertiary programmes, selected countries, 2014 or most recent available year
Gross entry ratio to first tertiary
programmes (%)
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Eritrea
Zimbabwe
Burundi
Lesotho
Sudan
Afghanistan
Seychelles
Guinea
Honduras
Ghana
Bhutan
Comoros
El Salvador
Cuba
Sri Lanka
Indonesia
Egypt
Algeria
Malaysia
Luxembourg
Cabo Verde
India
Tunisia
Italy
Hungary
United States
Bahrain
Finland
Palestine
Romania
Argentina
United Kingdom
Albania
Slovakia
Sweden
Portugal
Malta
Germany
Iran, Isl. Rep.
Austria
Czech Rep.
Lithuania
Saudi Arabia
Slovenia
Spain
Switzerland
Norway
Bulgaria
Mongolia
Denmark
Russian Fed.
Chile
Belarus
Source: UIS database.
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CHAPTER 12 | TARGET 4.3 – TECHNICAL, VOCATIONAL, TERTIARY AND ADULT EDUCATION