Chapter Eleven: The Financing and Resourcing of Education at Primary and Post-Primary Levels Table 1: Annual expenditure on educational institutions per student (2013) (In equivalent US$ converted using purchasing power parities for GDP) Primary Secondary Tertiary Primary to (Including Tertiary Research and Development) Ireland 8,002 10,804 13,663 10,065 OECD average 8,477 9,811 15,772 10,493 Ranking (OECD) 19th of 34 14th of 33 19th of 34 18th of 34 Source: Table B1:1, Education at a Glance 2016a, p. 192; DES Statistics Section, 2016, p. 10 Figure 1: Annual expenditure by educational institutions per student, by types of service (2013) (In equivalent USD converted using PPPs, based on full-time equivalents, for primary through tertiary education) Core services Ancillary services (transport, meals, housing provided by institutions) Total (for chart) R&D (for chart) In equivalent USD converted using PPPs 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Luxembourg 1 Switzerland 2 United States 3 Norway 3 Austria United Kingdom Sweden Canada 1, 4 Belgium Denmark Netherlands Germany Japan Finland Australia France EU22 Average OECD Average Iceland Ireland 2 New Zealand Slovenia Italy 3 Portugal Spain Korea Estonia Israel Czech Republic Poland 2 Slovak Republic 1 Latvia Lithuania Russian Federation Hungary Chile 5 Turkey Brazil 2 Mexico Colombia Indonesia Source: OECD, 2016a, p. 180 (Figure B1:1) Comparison of the 2012 figures with the 2013 figures presented in Table 1 shows that spending per school pupil and third-level student deteriorated significantly between the years 2012 and 2013 as the effects of budget cuts (due primarily to the financial emergency) were felt throughout the system. Ireland’s rank on expenditure per student at primary level fell from 13 th to 19 th and for secondary — 171 —
<strong>Towards</strong> a <strong>Better</strong> <strong>Future</strong>: A Review of the Irish School System students from 8 th to 14 th . Tables B1:1 in Education at a Glance, both years, show a reduction in expenditure per student, primary to tertiary, of 6.3% (2015, p. 219; 2016, p, 192). Ireland’s overall expenditure in 2013 ranked below several of the countries where it was ahead the previous year, e.g. France and Australia and the overall OECD average. In 2013, Germany, Japan, Sweden and the UK were ahead of Ireland’s ranking on this variable. Ireland, however, remained ahead of Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and, perhaps more surprisingly, slightly above New Zealand. In 2013, it fell below the OECD average (OECD, 2016a, p. 192). However, as Table 1 illustrates, expenditure per student in secondary education remained above the OECD average. As Figure 1 shows, Ireland’s per-student expenditure in 2013 was almost exactly in the middle of all the countries for which information was presented, but was slightly below the OECD average. While the decrease in Irish expenditure was 6.3% between 2012 and 2013, it was 7% compared to 2008 levels, while the average across the OECD increased by 8% over the 2008-2013 period (OECD, 2016b). On average, across OECD countries, expenditure on core education services represents 84% of total expenditure per student from primary through tertiary education, and exceeds 90% in Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico and Poland. It should be noted that, in common with a number of other countries, Ireland’s expenditure per student increased from 2000 to 2010 but, due to the economic crisis, it decreased 2011-2012 (OECD, 2015, p. 222). Between 2012 and 2013, as we have seen above, it decreased even further (OECD 2016). In OECD countries, expenditure per student by educational institutions averages 22% of per capita GDP at the primary level and 25% at the secondary level. The relationship between per capita GDP and expenditure per student by educational institutions is difficult to interpret. However, there is a clear positive relationship between the two at both the primary and secondary levels of education – in other words, poorer countries tend to spend less per student than richer ones. Although the relationship is generally positive at these levels, there are variations, even among countries with similar levels of per capita GDP, and especially those in which per capita GDP exceeds $30,000. Ireland and Austria, for example, have similar levels of per-capita GDP but spend very different proportions of it on primary and secondary education. In Ireland, the proportions are 19% at the primary level and 25% at the secondary level (below or at the OECD averages of 22% and 25%, respectively), while in Austria, the proportions are 21% and 31%, respectively, and are among the largest at the secondary level (OECD, 2015, p.213). Expenditure per student by educational institutions is largely influenced by teachers’ salaries, pension systems, instructional and teaching hours, the cost of teaching materials and facilities, the programmes provided (e.g. general or vocational) and the number of students enrolled in the educational system (OECD 2015, p.209). Countries have different priorities for allocating their resources. For example, among the ten OECD countries with the largest expenditure per student by educational institutions at the lower secondary level, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the United States have among the highest teachers’ salaries after 15 years of experience at the lower secondary level. Austria, Finland, Luxembourg and Norway have some of the lowest student-teacher ratios at that level. — 172 —
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