Austerity and Privatization Weakened OECD Education Systems By Isabel Ortiz and Antonia Wulff Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++)

Austerity and Privatization Weakened OECD Education Systems By Isabel Ortiz and Antonia Wulff Decline blamed on AI and social media but was triggered much earlier by austerity reforms and budget cuts. BRUSSELS / GENEVA, Oct 5 2026 (IPS) - The results of the OECD PISA 2025 report point to the marked deterioration of results in countries whose education systems were once considered exemplary. PISA assesses how students aged 15 apply skills in reading, mathematics, and science to real-life situations, and the latest report contains the lowest averages ever measured in all three subjects across the OECD (as illustrated in the graph above). Public debate has rushed to blame the use of AI and social media, but the deterioration long predates them. In many countries, this decline has unfolded alongside years of austerity cuts and growing pressures on public education systems, including public spending, teacher pay and working conditions, staffing and the capacity of schools to provide quality education. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/austerity-and-privatization-weakened-oecd-education-systems/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) Future-Ready Students https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2025-results-volume-i_73451bc5-en.html End Austerity: A Global Report on Budget Cuts and Harmful Social Reforms in 2022-25 https://publicservices.international/resources/publications/end-austerity-a-global-report-on-budget-cuts-and-harmful-social-reforms-in-2022-25?id=13501&lang=en