Finland and South Korea have topped the table of education superpowers leaving traditionally strong competitors like the United Kingdom and the United States lagging behind while India has managed to not figure on the list, according to a report released in London on Tuesday.

Asian education powerhouses, Hong Kong (0.90), Japan (0.89) and Singapore (0.84) completed the top five rankings in the league created by educational publisher, Pearson, which owns Penguin and Fina
ncial Times newspaper.

The study, the Learning Curve, carried out independently by the Economist Intelligence Unit, includes a new global index of cognitive skills and educational attainment, drawing on existing data from the international OECD programme for international student assessment in maths, reading and science. The global index has assessed only 40 countries for which it has complete data and India is not on the list.

The bottom of the league table is dominated by rapidly growing economies like Mexico (-1.60), Brazil (1.65) and Indonesia (-2.03),
whose scores run into negative as compared to Finland’s 1.26 and South Korea’s 1.23 scores.

The top two nations are the only countries with scores above 1 point. “In
some ways, it is hard to imagine two more different systems: South Korea is frequently characterised as test-driven and rigid, with students putting in extraordinary work time; the Finnish system is much more relaxed and flexible. Closer examination, though, shows that both countries develop high-quality teachers, value accountability and have a moral mission that underlies education efforts,” the Learning Curve explains the similarity between the top two nations.

The UK is sixth on the list with a score of (0.60) and the United States is 17th
with the score of (0.35).

The Netherlands is seventh with 0.59 points, followed by New Zealand (0.56) and Switzerland (0.55).

“There is no substitute for good teachers. The impact of good teachers extends beyond positive educational outcomes and can be linked to positive societal factors, such as lower levels of teenage pregnancy and a greater tendency to save for retirement. Creating the best teachers is about more than paying a good salary.

The best performing countries attract top talent, train teachers throughout their careers,” the report added.
Finland tops while UK, USA rank low Finland is at the top of the table with 1.26 UK ranks sixth with a 0.60 score USA ranked at 17 with a 0.35 The bottom of the list is dominated by Mexico, Brazil with minus scores