The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Tuesday, Sept. 18, that wealthy nations are spending far more money on education than they did 12 years ago. However, in its annual "Education at a Glance Survey" presented in Berlin, the organization also said that inefficient use of resources is impeding efforts to improve standards.

OECD said that if current resources were employed more efficiently, learning levels could increase by 22 percent.

"Countries are collectively spending more than they ever have on education," the OECD said. "But the results gained from that investment are far from maximized."

The Paris-based organization represents 30 industrialized countries. It said that between 1995 and 2004, spending on education had risen by an average of 42 percent, with more people than ever receiving secondary school and university degrees.

More than half of high school students go on to college

"On average more than half of school-leavers are entering university-level education at some stage in their life," OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said at Tuesday's press conference. "The most striking thing is the astounding speed at which the education system continues to expand."

Forty years ago, the number of university entrants stood at one in 10 pupils.

According to the OECD Web site, more than 40 percent of young people in countries such as Denmark, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland complete university courses. The organization noted, however, that graduation rates tended to be "highest in countries where programs are of short duration."

Germany's longer study programs hinder completion

"By contrast, in Germany and Austria, where programs are longer, only 20 percent of young people get degrees," the OECD noted.

The organization said that its findings confirmed that people who obtain an education from the upper-secondary level upwards earn considerably more than those with lesser degrees.

The report also noted a significant historical change: Female students are now more likely to complete secondary education than their male peers.

In terms of graduation from education up to the age of 18, female students exceed boys in all countries surveyed, with the exception of South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey.