South Korea and Finland have the toughest education systems in the world

South Korea, Finland, the United States and Russia have some of the toughest education systems in the world, according to a new guide.

Singapore, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Africa are among the top 10 countries with difficult education systems, published by Kosovo-based education platform mastersdegree.net.

In South Korea, students work 12 to 16 hours a day while serving dinner at school. In China, students are typically in classrooms from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Researchers looked at each country’s education system and assessed curriculum rigor and educational standards, higher education, the most popular degrees with the most difficult exams in the country, student stress levels, college acceptance rates, average IQ scores, and more. .

“We evaluated the top 10 most challenging education systems in the world using a comprehensive methodology that takes into account seven key indicators,” said Alma Miftari, Head of Research and Statistics at MastersDegree.net he said. The National.

Here are the 10 countries with the most difficult education systems. However, they are not ranked.

• South Korea
• Finland
• Singapore
• China
• Japan
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan
• South Africa
• America
• Russia

South Korea’s eight-hour Sunun exam is considered one of the most difficult of its kind in the world.

Competition is so fierce that airspace is closed on exam days to help students concentrate, and stock market openings are postponed.

Does being tough work?

Lee Hall, principal of Dubai British School Jumeirah, which is scheduled to open later this year, worked in Cambodia for two and a half years before moving to the UAE.

He said that in many of the countries on the list, education has become too results-oriented, which is having a negative impact on students’ mental health.

“I think what these schools and systems are looking for is that success is defined by results, and success is less often defined by the person behind the results,” Hall said.

“When you put expectations and demands on results, it becomes like a factory line. It’s a very industrialized view of education.

“Education is there to help you get good results, then go to university, then go into industry, and then into the workforce.

“In my experience working in Southeast Asia, many Korean students studied math, English, and science very hard, so their parents didn’t do much to help them focus on what they were most passionate about. I say I didn’t give it out.”

What about university?

Vandana Mahajan, founder of Futures Abroad, an education consultancy in the Emirates, said American universities are the most difficult to get into.

He said that countries listed as having the most stringent education systems have very high standards for admission to schools and universities.

“Students who have just graduated from high school are being told to prepare very actively and intensively to enter school or university,” Mahajan said.

“When I talked to Japanese high school students, they said they worked very hard and slept only four to five hours a day.

“They grow up with the idea that they have to work hard to get into the best universities and that life will be easy.

“When I worked at the University of Toronto in 2003, there were a lot of Chinese students, but because they had to get into local Chinese universities and there was a lot of competition, they only worked for two to three hours a day. I wasn’t sleeping.

“All of these countries… have very strict parameters. Students have to study hard to pass the entrance exam, and then they have a chance to get in.”

Updated: February 1, 2024, 1:58 p.m.